


Steven Universe: Anticrystal

by twentybillionlegions



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dark, Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Horror, Invasion, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, Survival, Suspense, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:47:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24283072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twentybillionlegions/pseuds/twentybillionlegions
Summary: In an alternate reality, times are bleak. The Earth-what's left of it-has been held hostage within the clutches of war. An ongoing war that has lasted centuries between the forces of Homeworld and a band of rebels calling themselves "The Crystal Blades."Meanwhile, the residents of Beach City cling on to every shred of hope and every scrap of food they can, working to survive in their gutted world.
Kudos: 2





	Steven Universe: Anticrystal

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I just sort of came up with after watching one of the episodes, and thought to myself: why not? If this is similar to any other fanfictions, I apologise, but those similarities are purely coincidental.  
> Enjoy?

Prologue

On March 30th, 2017, the Earth was demolished by a secret force known by many names across the world. The most common was "The Cluster." This event was a signal for the invading forces of Homeworld, known as the Invaders, to colonize the planet and take it as their own. Billions were killed, leaving only a few million to survive across the world, spread out from everyone. Few even know that anyone else is still alive.

In the coastal area of Beach City, Delmarva, the surviving residents have formed a refugee group that must hide from the invading forces. These residents are led by Gregory DeMayo, and his adopted daughter. They are caught in the crossfires of an ongoing war that has lasted centuries between the Invaders and a rebellious force. The people of Beach City have been cautioned to avoid both parties, as involving themselves in either will result in certain death.

The Rebels call themselves the Crystal Blades. They are a group of 5 Homeworld Gems who have rebelled against their government, The M.I.D.A.H. They have made efforts to thwart them for years. To take down their tyrannical leader and claim it as their own. And to start this plan by taking back a world that has already been lost. Even though they try desperately to win against the Invaders, the Crystal Blades have begun to lose the world they hope to take back. And The M.I.D.A.H. has taken great strides in the way of ensuring the rebels do not succeed.

1

All is silent. The streets that ran all around the city are empty. Littered with garbage, old clothes, and newspapers that warned everyone of impending doom. Of seismic waves from the center of the Earth that were "worrisome" and "unusual." Those words were nothing short of an understatement when compared to the mass destruction from such a gargantuan force. Napkins fluttered in the air holding the souls of the dead in its chilling grasp. The wind howled like banshees, hoping to save what remains of their city's population. Leave this place, they say, only death awaits you here. The change in environment certainly didn't help the climate, either. More clouds had arisen. Stronger tides and cooler air. Those left in this place were too scared to see what else had happened to their beautiful world, choosing instead to hide underground. Although sounding like a stupid idea, and rightfully so, there was good reason for it. There were vultures. Vultures that came in large, pastel-colored shells, swooping down upon the surface to take whatever scraps of food they could. Those that were caught in their sights didn't last much more than 5 seconds after. Vidalia can attest to that. And Sour Cream. And Yellowtail. Fryman. Nanefua. Buck. So many lives crumbled to nothing more than dust at the mercy of sunlight. Greg sat on a crate full of old Cookie Cat snacks, rubbing his temples at the recollections. So many lost. He looked up and around. Everyone except for Connie and him were sleeping. Good. They needed as many good dreams as they could get. In fact, any escape from their hellish reality would be cathartic in some way. They had traveled in a large group only a few hours after the earthquakes became too strong. They'd eventually made their way to an old tunnel that led into an abandoned subway station. It was pretty standard, two tunnels on either side of a central platform with two more platforms along the walls. The only problem was that most of the place was caved in after the earthquakes, luckily still leaving half of the central platform, one of the tunnels, and the entirety of the parallel platform. From some of the decor and designs, most speculated that it was frequented sometime in the '40s or '50s. It smelled of diesel and old shoes, with barely any light being able to come through at all. A few had tried to find a generator or circuit breaker that could work. Nonesuch luck. So, they lived in the luminescence of lanterns, flashlights, even some candles if they were careful enough, only surfacing every 5 days for food and water. It was cold down there. Especially in the winter. Thankfully, it was spring, so they wouldn't have to worry about those temperatures for quite some time. Greg had lost track of time, as keeping track of a calendar became irrelevant by then, but if he had to guess, he'd say they'd been living there for about a year or so. He got up, walking over to Connie, who was perched on one of the benches near the bathrooms and the right-hand entrance to the exit tunnel. Always the watchful guardian. Greg thought, smirking. She held a small kitchen knife, as Greg didn't quite trust her with any other type of weapon just yet, and wore a teal shirt beneath her Dad's old jacket. She also wore some pretty baggy denim pants and red flip-flops. He sat down next to her, trying to read her face and see what she was thinking about. How she was feeling. She'd since become good at masking her emotions, something that few others of the group had even considered. Smiley in particular. Her features were difficult to make out in the dim light of an old lantern, but Greg could tell that her eyebrows were furrowed just a bit. It was either a look of concentration or anger. Maybe both, knowing her. Greg thought.

"Hey." He greeted in a whisper. Her head jolted a bit, as though someone had called her name. She looked him directly in the eyes. He knew that look. It was an odd mixture of depression and rage, conveyed purely by the look of her eyes. He wanted to pat her on the back or hug her, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable in any way. He didn't want her to feel like a kid. Sure, she says that she turned 13 not long ago, but Greg knew that these sorts of situations can really alter the mindscape of those stuck in it. Especially the soft clay of a child's psyche. She nodded to return the greeting. "You all right?"

"Yeah." She answered, more breath than voice. "Yeah, I'm fine." Curious as he was, Greg didn't want to bring up her parents. It's the only thing other than the Invaders that puts her into this sort of mood, and pursuing it in conversation never ends well for anyone involved. "How is everyone else, do you think?" She asked, her gaze shifting over to Onion, fast asleep just a few feet away. Alone. Greg shrugged.

"They look relatively fine to me." Greg said, clearing his throat.

"I like how people look when they sleep." Greg looked at her, concerned and a bit suspicious. Connie seemed to have realized what she just said, looking back at Greg and blushing a bit. "Sorry, not in a creepy way. I don't watch anyone while they sleep, I just mean that...y'know...they're peaceful." She then looked at Onion again. As strange as the topic was, Greg had to agree that the look of absolute tranquility on everyone's faces was something admirable. Like a diamond in a cave that was the only one of its kind, lodged too far in to be kept. Just enough to catch glimpses of it. To marvel at.

"Yeah." Greg said. "I guess they are." Movement was heard from down the tunnel. Like a rabbit in a field, Connie shot up in attention, locating the source of it while looking around the corner. She took a pocket flashlight out of her jacket, shining it down the tunnel. It was as though someone had draped a large, black cloth across the tunnel not 8 feet in front of them. The gradient darkness, defined only by the light grey edges of the tunnel, provided no answers as to the source of the noise. Greg rolled it over in his head a few times, playing with it like a cat with a ball of yarn. It was like a piece of hard plastic was dropped on stone, only echoing infinitely. Could it have been an animal? A localized tremor? Something that lost balance? Or maybe it was one of their own who had been forgotten in the headcount. Greg didn't want to assume the worst. If an Invader had found them here, they only had one way out. It wasn't very easy to manage, but it did its purpose well. Since the rest of the tunnels were blocked off, they had to have another place to go in the event of an emergency. So, since the old train station had long since been excavated, they dug a hole just above them where it used to be, covered up by some concrete and asphalt. They'd need some way to move them, as well as get up about 13 feet off the ground with enough support and balance to move them. Keeping that escape route in mind, Greg tapped Connie's shoulder. "You think we should check it out?"

"I don't think we're in any position to take chances. Who knows what could be there and what it wants."

"Maybe it was just, like, an animal or something." Connie gave that scoffish laugh one lets out after hearing an unfunny joke. She climbed over the edge of the platform, staying close to the wall as she made her way further into the tunnel. Greg, checking on the group first, reluctantly followed. They moved slowly and quietly, with Greg keeping a good 3 feet between them. They didn't hear anything other than the faint crunching of their footsteps on the aged concrete and the reverberating, silent snores of those behind them. Connie shone her light on every inch of the tunnel, seemingly halting in surprise once she shone it on the floor only a few feet ahead of her.

"Ugh. Great." Connie said. "Roaches." Greg peered around her shoulder, and the edge of the light showed the shadowy figures of many, writhing little bodies. She looked around on the walls and the ceiling before she finally saw it. A section of the ceiling had fallen off, which opened up to a dark hole. Another roach fell out, the cherry on top of the disgusting insect sundae.

"Maybe we'll be able to trap them in, like, a cup or something?" Greg suggested. "I don't think we have any repellent."

"Do we have an empty water bottle?" Connie asked.

"Maybe?"

"What about soap and water?"

"Of course."

"That's all we need. Go get them, I'll keep an eye on these little freaks." Greg wasted no time, turning around to get what was asked. He turned his head behind him, looking at Connie while walking back to the group. She stood so courageously. Confident and powerful. Greg smiled. He was so proud of his daughter.

2

"Status report," Ruby commanded. She sat at an old table within the lighthouse that they'd inhabited about a week ago. A torn banner with their insignia crudely painted on hung from the railing on a landing high above them. The table she sat at was smackdab in the center, where old and broken parts of Gem technology were laid askew across its surface. Scraps of old metal and other materials found in the aftermath of The Cluster's emergence were stored in a cardboard box at the base of the stairs. The stairs themselves rose some 8 feet to the ceiling, spiraling along the sides of the cylindrical structure, and leading up to a second floor intended for strategizing and group discussion, making use of the human's old supplies and tools. The floors leading up to the lamp had yet to be of use for them, and the basement was purposed primarily for storing miscellaneous items. Ruby had suggested turning the lamp into some sort of WMD, yet nothing was ever agreed on. Ruby waited for a response from a refurbished Gem communicator. It was a pentagonal plate, about the size of a child's palm, with an orangish-red color for the Defensive Division of Yellow Diamond's guard. Ruby's grip tightened when she remembered that tyrant.

"Clear skies as usual. Y'know, unless you count the stars." Bismuth replied from the beach. Amethyst was trying to break down the side of the cliff that held the lighthouse, planning to make a base there. They had rested on this planet for almost 500 years, yet they still hadn't found a place to stay. None of the human structures were viable, they were much too fragile. They couldn't go underground, as what humans remained may reside there. So, here they worked. On an empty beach with cold, damp sand. Pearl supervised Amethyst's operation, and it looked as though she was tiring out.

"Seriously? I could kick it with moderate force and take out a bigger chunk." Pearl said.

"Hey, I'm trying, okay?!" Amethyst snapped.

"Well, you've been 'trying' for 10 minutes." Pearl retorted, casual.

"I'm sorry...I...can't help it if I'm...tired." Amethyst said, taking a break. Pearl rolled her eyes.

"I'll give you five more to rest if you're going to whine about it."

"What's going on, Twiggy?" Ruby asked Pearl through her communicator. Pearl did not respond. "Hello-o?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you talking to me, Short Stuff?" Pearl replied, a confident smirk crossing her face.

"I might just shatter you for that, Pearl."

"Uh-huh. Good luck at CQC, in that case." There was a pause. "The Runt's not making much progress. She gets tired way too quickly." Ruby gave a guttural grunt of pure frustration.

"Of course she does." Ruby got out of the chair in front of the table, tense.

"Is everything all right, Ruby?" Sapphire asked, walking down the stairs.

"Commander. It's...Commander." She paused at the base of the stairs, tilting her head down. Her expression was blank, hiding any emotion, just as her voice was.

"Of course. My apologies...Commander." Ruby summoned her gauntlet, forcefully opening the door into the small, house-like structure on the side. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Do you have a way to make that Runt work?!" Sapphire stood in the open doorway, hesitating.

"Not me...but don't be violent to her. She just needs some sort of conne--"

"Does it look like I care?!" Ruby shouted, annoyed. "You don't get discipline from talking." Ruby popped her knuckles as she stormed down the hill. The wind brought chilly gasps of salty air up from the ocean below. Impatient, Ruby jumped off the side of the cliff, landing on the beach with massive impact. Pearl instinctively drew her weapon, assuming an attack. Ruby stood back up, unfazed. "Watch where you point that thing." She said, side-eyeing Pearl. Ruby saw Amethyst sitting on the beach, turned away from the rest of the group and hiding her face. She was locked on to her target. "Hey!" Ruby called, getting closer every moment. Amethyst shot up and around, apparently terrified. Pearl heard Ruby's tone as well, and tried to see what was going on. She noticed Ruby's gauntlet.

"Wait--" Pearl said, genuinely concerned.

"Shut it," Ruby said, not breaking eye contact with Amethyst. "Do you think you can take a break after barely any time has passed? We don't have a good base yet, thanks to you. Because of you, we'll be staying in that rusty old human structure up there! We need a good base, and you're down here staring at the ground?!" Ruby punched Amethyst in the gut, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. "Oh, how pathetic! An Amethyst that can't even bear a little pain? No wonder you were left there in that pile!" Ruby stomped her on the chest, hitting her gem almost directly.

"I think that's quite enough," Pearl persisted.

"I said shut it," Ruby said through gritted teeth, this time staring straight into Pearl's eyes.

"And I said that's quite enough!"

"Do you want to go back to your Diamond, Pearl?" Ruby said, insultingly.

"At least I was higher up on the social ladder than you brutish little Rubies!"

"Everyone, please just stop!" Sapphire shouted, descending gracefully from above like an angel heralding some sort of tragedy. "This will get us nowhere good! Please, just let each other alone for now." Ruby put up a finger and was about to speak. "And, Ruby, your authority over the rest of us will not change any outcome." Sapphire interrupted. Ruby tried again. "I'm afraid not." Sapphire said. Ruby stomped, kicking up a wave of sand as high as her waist that eventually settled back down into its home. She took rather large strides back up the hill towards the fence. What was a fence, that is. Sapphire walked over to Amethyst, stooping down a bit to talk with her. "Are you okay?" Amethyst did not speak, and covered her face. She quickly peered over her shield, only allowing Sapphire to see her eye. An eye that conveyed a raw fear more common in children. Sapphire put her hand out to help her up, Amethyst flinching at the gesture. Sapphire, not wanting to persist, stood back up, turning towards the other two. "Amethyst is in no condition to continue her task. Bismuth, you must take over for her."

"Like Hell I do!" Bismuth declared, arms crossed.

"Where'd you pick that up?" Pearl asked, not understanding her phrase.

"Some books still made it here. I have to find something to pass the time." Bismuth replied in a whisper. Other than build for us? Pearl thought to herself. "If I'm gonna be taking over the Runt's job, then who exactly is gonna stand lookout?"

"Pearl," Sapphire said, nonchalant. She began walking away, not acknowledging the shouts and protests of the other two. On the edge of the beach, Amethyst began to shed tears of suffering.

***********************************************************************************************

"The ships are ready to colonize Planet X5-7G, my Diamond." The Loud Pearl reported in the large, dark room of her master.

"Colonize? Or exterminate?" The Efficient Pearl asked. "These are two similar processes with their intentions and results being the only differences."

"Oh, I don't know! Does sending down Habitat Spires and Terrain Pods sound like extermination to you?!"

"Let's not get too feisty, now. You remember what happened to the Confident Pearl."

Warned the Quiet Pearl.

"I do not believe she was being feisty. Only overly emotional in respo--"

"Planet X6-7E-A, however, is ready for extermination, my Diamond." The Loud Pearl interrupted. The other two simply looked at her with annoyance. "What exactly do you intend to have take place on these two planets? Keep in mind the assigned ships can be switched."

"What about X4-7D?" The Quiet Pearl whispered. "I thought that was supposed to be destroyed, yet the galactic maps still display it."

"It is possible that the maps have yet to be updated." The Efficient Pearl explained.  
"I'm not sure. Destruction was scheduled about 0.5 Rotations ago. Our Diamond will not be happy about this." A thundering knock shook the very fibers of the room, putting the Loud and Quiet Pearls off balance. They dared not look up and meet the fiery gaze of her blindingly yellow eyes. The room was kept dark, with the only lights coming from the base of her throne and a screen that occasionally popped up for her use. The rest had to be filled in by her Pearls' gemstones. Three little cones of light no larger than the tip of her nose. No rules were given when they were first appointed. No rules, directions, even words were imaginary when referring to their yellow goddess. Never once had they heard her speak, nor did they intend to discover the circumstances under which she would. They thus had to be as cautiously subservient to her as they possibly could. A small quadrilateral hologram floated down in front of the three Pearls, displaying a feed from the base set up on Earth's moon. They could all concur that progress was being made, yet an orange dot caught their attention. A dot on the northern central facet. On the coast of what used to be North America. Not quite understanding what it was she had commanded, the Pearls did the only thing that made any logical sense. A reconnaissance Peridot would be sent down to that area and find and eradicate any irregularities. Whether it be wildlife, human life, or Gem life.

3

Dawn breaks. An otherworldly chill leaked into the air. The smells wafted into the city from the sea. Smells of salt and fish. A few hints of something metallic, too. Oil? Blood? It didn't really matter. A faint, glowing mixture of orange and yellow flooded the furthest end of the tunnel. Not enough to light up the station, but enough to indicate that it was time to wake up. There are fewer deaths during the sunlight. They had 6 trials to prove that. Yet, plenty still remained. 13, to be exact, with Greg included, and he was thankful for that. A few were still sleeping, like Ronaldo and Kiki, for instance. Greg had slept for about 4 or 5 hours that night. His thoughts weren't being very kind. Connie's sleep schedule was messy, to say the least. Every time Greg was awake, Connie seemed to be just as well. Just as energized. Just as healthy. Just as gallant. Smiley was just beginning to wake up when Greg decided it was time to form a sort of posse to search for food. They only had some old, mushy fries and some pizza that was beginning to mold.

"Alright, everyone. Time to wake up!" Greg said. Ronaldo bolted up, while PeeDee groggily lifted himself from the ground.

"Reporting for duty, sir!" Ronaldo said, standing to attention like a soldier. Greg rolled his eyes. A soldier he was not. An asset, though... Greg thought. He took a second. On second thought, he's not really that either.

"At ease, or whatever," Greg said in a bored tone. "Smiley! C'mon, old man, we've gotta get going."

"'Old man?'" Smiley said, smirking. "Bitch, you're at least 2 years older than me."

"Yeah. But at least I don't show it." Greg replied, playfully punching Smiley in the shoulder. He saw the usuals in front of him. Kiki, who was just waking up, Ronaldo, PeeDee, Smiley, Onion, Connie, and himself. He felt like he was forgetting someone, though. Then it occurred to him, and his eyebrows lowered, commanding his mouth to frown just slightly. He was forgetting two someones. "Where are Bonnie and Clyde?" Greg asked, a bit annoyed.

"Those two? Probably in the bathrooms somewhere." Connie said from her usual spot on the bench.

"Yeah. Probably showering together or something." Smiley said with a chuckle. Greg smirked and shook his head.

"I don't think we have showers," PeeDee said. Then an idea came to him. "Unless..." PeeDee displayed a look of disgust and shook his head, trying to shake the thought from it. Greg rubbed his temples.

"Connie, are you up to check the women's?" Greg asked.

"Again? I guess so." Connie replied. Greg nodded, heading towards the men's. He turned on his flashlight, shining it underneath the stalls and on the mirrors as warnings. He didn't want to end up seeing something he shouldn't have. He then heard a shout of surprise from the other side of the wall, and then some more shouts that sounded more furious. Greg groaned, heading back out in a hurried walk. Connie exited, clearly a bit shaken.

"What happened?" Greg asked, concerned. Connie looked at him, a new emotion on her face. No...not new. Just uncommon. She looked like she was going to vomit. Soon, they exited the bathrooms as well. Sadie Miller. The "punk bitch" of Beach City. Her lips were chapped and her eyes held the blazing fires of Hell.

"What the fuck, guys?!" Sadie shouted before coughing. "Can't a girl get some fuckin' privacy?!" Lars wasn't too far behind her. Classic emo teen. Hair dyed black, skull earrings, and even skin that was paler than usual. Either he was hurting himself or he'd found some secret supply of makeup, it seemed. Then again, if he were hurting himself that badly, he'd probably be dead at this point. As usual, he simply looked at the ground and didn't speak, a blank expression on his face. Poor kid, Greg thought. He then noticed that his pants were zipped, but unbuttoned, and that he must've hurried to pull them back up. It was then that Greg put two-and-two together.

"And I thought you knew better," Greg said, subtly shaking his head. He'd actually expected this from her, but he wanted to see if there was some sort of emotion left in her other than anger.

"Than what?!" Sadie shouted back, her fiery glare shifting to Greg. Proven wrong, yet again, he thought. "Than to give a BJ in the middle of some depressing fucking times?!"

"'Depressing' and 'fucking' are two words that are rarely in the same sentence!" Smiley cracked, laughing to himself. The most he got was a smirk from PeeDee, who then uncomfortably lost his reaction after seemingly figuring out what he meant.

"Sadie?" A familiar voice called from the back of the tunnel. Greg's heart sank. Until then, they'd been able to tone Sadie's behavior down and not talk about it around her mother. Yet, here she was. Emerging from the back of the tunnel like death itself coming for their souls. "What are you talking about? Why are you shouting those things?" Sadie rolled her eyes, turning her head away from her mother.

"Nothing, mom. Nothing at all." Sadie looked at Jenny, who simply watched from the sides, serving only as an unemotional audience to her outburst. Without paying Lars any mind, Sadie began to walk over to Jenny. Greg looked back into the tunnel. The orangy-yellow from before was beginning to fade into pure white. Considering dawn was at 6, Greg guessed it must be getting closer to 7. People would be wanting breakfast soon.

"Greg? What the hell was she on about?" Barb asked, walking up to him.

"Can't talk now, Barb. Sorry." Greg replied.

"Why not?"

"We need to head out for food. We're running low on vitamins, sugar, all that jazz."

"Yeah, why can't I come with?" Connie said, her tone skating the edge of calm and irritated. Greg looked at her blankly. He had so many things he wanted to say, so many that he could have, and maybe even many that he should have, but instead he replied with:

"You can barely handle seeing Sadie's...behavior. I just don't think you're ready for that yet." Connie merely stared at him, her eyes conveying more than her face. She looked like she really wanted to respond, but thought it over and decided not to even bother. Greg didn't have time for this. He needed to get out there and get enough food for everyone in the time that they had as soon as possible. "Alright," Greg said, turning back towards the group. "Who's coming with?" Nobody instantly raised their hands, and Smiley was the first one to do so, of course. Then it was Ronaldo. Then Lars. Then Dewey. Then Kofi. Greg even saw Jamie's hand slightly raise, though it soon went back down. "So, six of us, then? Alright. Pack up any stuff you think you'll need. It'll be a bit before we get there." Greg headed about halfway into the tunnel, slowing to a halt to see how his posse was doing. Ronaldo was right on top of things, being the first out of the station. He wore his army uniform and cap, as well as some goggles probably salvaged from a garage sale. The most concerning thing to Greg, though, was a small lump spanning from Ronaldo's left ankle up about a quarter of his leg. It could have simply been padding of some sort, and Greg hoped that's all it was. The rest of the group soon followed after, with Kofi seemingly carrying the most baggage as he hauled a backpack as big as his torso. The 6 of them headed towards the end of the tunnel, which emerged not far from Dewey's old house. It had been so many weeks since Greg last saw the world. Last felt the rays of sunlight kiss his cold and paling skin. The moment he stepped into the sun's sightline, however, a strange shiver coursed through his body. Such warmth and energy had since been alienated to his body. Aside from that, though, an aching pain emanated from his eyes as he squinted through the dense projection of their celestial light bulb. It hurt so much that he actually had to rub them after turning away. "Forgot how bright that was," Greg said, chuckling at such a stupid statement. After his eyes had adjusted as comfortably as they'd allow, he turned back around to exit the tunnel and view what had become of their beautiful city yet again. They walked about 5 feet or so before reaching the edge of the forest, emerging behind the since-collapsed water tower. Not much change since last he had seen it. More plants had grown, that was for certain, but the buildings had still maintained a look of ruin and loss of soul. The visitor center was still completely caved in, the storage units had begun to crumble, and even the good old car wash had become dirtied and soiled.

"So, what's the plan?" Ronaldo asked, equipping his binoculars. Greg took out an old map that was beginning to fade of Delmarva, seeing the directions and roads they'd have to follow to get where he had in mind. Beach City was no longer of use. All the food that could have been salvaged had already been about halfway through their refuge, and what remained was nothing but spoiled, rotting old nutrients for the flies and rats to enjoy. Catching a quick glimpse of Vidalia's old house made Greg choke up just a bit. He'd salvaged only one of her paintings. It still hung on one of the station walls.

"We need to head southwest," Greg informed. "There's an old family barn there that should hold some fresh vegetables, if not some canned food."

"Oh, that old place?" Dewey asked, ignoring the situation for a moment. "Should've torn that thing down years ago." He muttered. Greg looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed, yet the rest of his face devoid of emotion.

"It belonged to my aunt and uncle. The Daring DeMayos. Daredevils."

"Yeah? I wonder where that got 'em. Probably a hotspot in the big city. With bunkers and military protection."

"Well, my aunt left after a legal dispute, and my uncle died when I was 27." Dewey looked at Greg, his expression blank yet his mind abuzz with guilt. Greg blinked harder than usual, before returning his focus on the map. "At any rate, they liked to keep a lot of stuff in that barn, and I'd be willing to bet they kept a lot of supplies there. They basically lived there for a few years. If we take 1A up to Chuckwood and Pikesfield, then turn left and follow that road, we should reach it in about..." Greg calculated for a moment. "4 hours. Give or take."

"Walking?" Kofi asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. If you need someone to carry your bag for you, though, don't be afraid to ask."

"Ask? Bah! What do I look like, some sort of weakling?" Nobody spoke, merely looking at Kofi, who looked off to the side in slight embarrassment.

"Just sayin'," Greg added. He took a quick glance at the sun, which left a light-blue squiggly trail just in the center of his vision. Through that, he could confirm that 7 am would be upon them in a matter of minutes. Best to move as soon as possible. If it's an 8 hour round trip, they'd need a lot of time. "Alright. Let's get a move on." Everyone turned towards the road, briskly walking there. Greg stopped as soon as he reached it, looking at the lighthouse that towered above their fallen home. A beacon of safety that had lost all hope. He saw small figures, merely grains of dark sand, moving around in front of it. He knew what they were. He had a fair idea of who they were. And he knew that they were of no use to anyone other than themselves. He spat on the ground in front of him disrespectfully, before walking back into the group, trekking down the road that stretched towards the horizon.

***********************************************************************************************

November 16th, 1998. Jersey, USA.

Greg sat on his mother's old couch, strumming his guitar while wearing his black "Pearl Clam" shirt and torn jeans. The couch had begun to tear over years of use, though only around the edges. The house still had the smell of her $5 perfume in it, and he could've sworn that there were hints of the Apple Pies she'd made not 10 years before. He loved those pies. A car pulled up in front of his house, and its brown paint job gave away just who it was. He kept a calm demeanor, though his heart and dried mouth told a different story. He heard the front doorknob jiggle fiercely before someone knocked on the door. Reluctantly, Greg got up from the comfort of the couch and opened the door. There he saw just the person he'd been dreading.

"Hey, cuz." Andy greeted, a solemn tone directing his behavior. "How're ya holdin' up?"

"Well, if you don't factor in how I've stayed in the house for the past week or so, cry myself to sleep every other night, and am too afraid to talk to any other human being for fear of me breaking down or having a panic attack, then I guess you could say I'm fine," Greg replied, his expression firm.

"Look, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything," Andy said. "I just wanted to check up on ya. Fill you in on what's been goin' on."

"I don't need you to 'fill me in,' Andy. I need to be left alone."

"No," Andy said, entering the house. "You wanna be left alone. What you need is some human contact. Trust me. I'd know." Andy looked around the foyer, inspecting it and admiring it as though he were in a museum or department store. "Not much change since I was last here. How long has it been? 5 years? 10?"

"10 years." Andy shrugged. He sat down on the couch where Greg's guitar still rested.

"Still inta music, eh?" Greg nodded bluntly, picking up his instrument, and sitting down on the floor. He silently caressed the strings, the notes only audible to mice. Neither of them talked for a good minute.

"What do you mean 'you'd know?'" Greg asked, looking up at Andy. Andy looked back uncomfortably, looking off to the side as he responded.

"My mom left 2 years ago. I didn't come to see you until now because I hadn't gotten over it until just a little while ago. At least, not enough to actually contact you about it. After she left, though, dad tried to get the business goin' again. Go back to the great times of makin' engines and planes. Doin' tricks and spins with a crowd o' fans. He was bedridden in a week."

"What for?" Andy looked at him, his eyes becoming glossy. "Sorry, I don't mean to push."

"Nah, nah," Andy said while wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Nah, you're fine. It's why I showed up, right?" More silence with Andy taking quick glances at Greg's guitar. "He, uh...he and mom worked around a lot o' smoke, y'know? Smoke and metal. They even put some asbestos in the barn down in Delmarva. Keeps the fires from burnin' too much. All that stuff is Hell on your lungs." Greg knew what he was talking about, and felt even worse for even bringing it up. "W-We don't really have much left. We tried a bunch o' treatments already, but these fuckin' doctors keep leechin' off us. They ask for more and more each time knowing that my dad's life is on the line!" Andy gradually began to yell the more talked, his eyes becoming merciless rainclouds for the land beneath them. Greg's heart ached. His residual depression from the preceding days was beginning to leak into many other parts of his familial thoughts. Most of it had been redirected towards his poor cousin.

"Aw, Andy. I'm so sorry; I didn't know." Greg said, looking at his hands uncomfortably. "If you need anything, or if I can do anything to help, I'll do it. We're runnin' outta family, y'know?" Andy wiped the tears from his face, the invisible strings of a smirk just vaguely tugging at the corners of his mouth. He nodded profusely, sniffling large clumps of sorrow down through his nose.

"There...uh, there actually is somethin' you can do, Greg." Andy looked at Greg, who returned the gaze with curiosity and determination. "I think you'll like it, too."

"Lay it on me."

"Right now, dad needs, like, 10 thousand bucks for the next treatment. He says it should actually be able to keep him goin' for a good 20 years after! We just need another 8 thousand and he can stick around 'till we're wrinkly old prunes!"

"So what should I do?"

"You like music, right? Well, how about I try and find you a job? One tha-that's well payin' and puts ya in the hall o' fame with the likes o' Pearl Clam and DC/AC! Then everyone's happy!" Greg's excitement elevated at this proposition, he'd admit. But the more he wrapped his brain around it, the less it made sense.

"How much longer does Uncle Steven have on his own?"

"That's not important! What's impo--"

"Well, it is kinda important if I'm gonna make enough money before he's too far gone. I gotta know just how much I'm supposed to be workin', here." Andy stared at Greg, an expression of happiness that masked vital information. Information that could bring everything down. He shrugged.

"Eh...about7monthsorso." Andy mumbled.

"What?"

"7 months! He's got 7 months before it's too late!" Greg looked on in disbelief.

"7 months...are you high? I can't rack up 8 thousand in 7 months! I could barely make any when I tried it solo!"

"Don't think like that! Here, I'll even help ya get started!" Andy took out a 20 dollar bill from his wallet, handing it to Greg. Greg stood up, snatching the bill and looking at it with disdain.

"How am I not supposed to think like that?! It's reality! What else am I supposed to think, Andy?!"

"Just shut it, okay?!" Andy shot up at Greg, the two of them only a few inches from each other. "You are gonna make this money. You are going to leave behind a legacy that isn't just sittin' 'round and fuckin' mopin' all day, you hear me?! I don't wanna live knowing that my cousin's a washed-up crybaby! If you actually give a damn about your family anymore, you'll do this. If not," Andy stepped back, looking Greg dead in the eyes with furrowed brows. "Then you don't have to be a part of it anymore." Andy turned towards the front door and stormed up to it, the anger of a devil tailing him. "Call me when you're ready to talk, Greg." Andy slammed the door behind him, and drove off. Greg could only stand there, his muscles still tensed up. His chest was filled with a poisonous cocktail of emotion, intending to make him vomit it all out in some way. Greg never liked aggression. Or anger. He was raised to be polite and cheerful. To live a happy and successful life. But, perhaps for the first time in his life, Greg screamed at the top of his lungs.

***********************************************************************************************

Tall, scratchy stalks of grass had claimed the land as its own, shielding the barn's bottom half from sight. The once cherry-red paint had bleached and cracked, now faded to a dull maroon. As for the crops, it seemed that only a handful of ears might be suitable for consumption. The rest had gone red and white. Greg helped Kofi gather up about 10 of them, before heading towards the barn with Ronaldo. The other three were sent to check the vegetable patch on the other side of the field. The doors to the barn had been closed and chained, likely since the Daring DeMayos split up. The chains had grown a flaky skin of rust, yet held their integrity when kicked. Human strength would still be too weak.

"Ronaldo, try and see if there are some wire cutters or a hammer around here." Ronaldo saluted, marching over around the side of the barn. Meanwhile, Greg tried to see if he could peek through the crack in the door. His vision remained blurred as it futilely attempted to find something to focus on. All he could see was some dirt and bright tan spots of sunlight scattered around the interior. Within a minute, Ronaldo returned empty-handed.

"I'm afraid I couldn't find anything, sir," Ronaldo reported, looking at the ground. Greg grunted in frustration, massaging his forehead.

"Okay. Alright. We're gonna have to figure out a way to get in there, though. I'm not leaving with 10 ears of corn and nothing else. We're gonna be vomiting corn by the end of next week, and then we'll just be back here!" Greg thought aloud. The other three emerged from the cornfield, carrying a total of 4 squashes and about 6 vegetables that looked like they were just on the brink of being rotten. They'd have to do. Smiley saw them standing around the secured doors and giggled.

"Y'all need me to open that door for ya?" He asked.

"If you can, that'd be nice," Kofi said, moving out of the way. Smiley transferred his vegetables to Lars, who was only holding two. Smiley then briskly walked over to the door, inspecting the chain. He then did a series of strange, coordinated movements, before giving it a hard tug, causing the whole thing to fall apart. The rest of the group looked on in shock and confusion, while Smiley merely bowed as though he were on a stage. He opened the doors for them, and they were met with the musty scent of old wood. Hints of spicy mold spores and maybe even a few corpses of the unfortunate critters hoping to escape their crumbling world. There wasn't much to look at. Further inspection led to a large trapdoor which caught Greg's attention. He crouched down to it, seeing a padlock locking it in place. He rolled his eyes and looked around the barn for tools. There were scraps, a chain that hung from the rafters, and a... Sledgehammer! Greg jumped up, rushing over to it. It was half-hidden by a pile of dirt and straw, and the wood seemed to be splintering. He wrapped the end of his sleeve around his hand to pick it up, and brought it over to the aging lock. He raised it up, the handle feeling painfully coarse to his other, unprotected hand, and finally brought it down with great force. Surprisingly, the lock shattered into multiple pieces upon impact, and several little splinters planted themselves in Greg's skin. He stepped back, picking out the little buggers, and Ronaldo opened the trapdoor up to a set of stairs.

"Your aunt and uncle had quite the place going for them." Smiley quipped. Greg couldn't help but smirk. The six of them moved down one at a time, entering a dark and musty cellar area. Ronaldo took out a flashlight, shining it around to see what this was. There, they saw shelves of canned food and bottles of water.

"Those bastards built a doomsday bunker!" Dewey said, smiling in awe. He then looked at Greg who eyed him angrily. "Good bastards, I mean. Like, friendl--"

"I get it." Greg interrupted. "Take what you can. We might come back later. Ronaldo, try and find us a wagon or something." Ronaldo nodded, saluting. As he turned to leave, however, he wondered.

"Sir? What if I'm unable to find one?" He asked shamefully.

"Well, make one." Ronaldo again nodded, walking back up the stairs hurriedly. Each can was like its own little time capsule, different dates and expirations for each one. Each one contained what may have been a day's worth of nutrients. For one person, at least.

The group had to wait silently for what felt like 10 minutes for Ronaldo to return with a wagon. It was poorly made, though, being shambled together by planks and small metal sheets with nails driven through them. Greg was shocked that there wasn't a spot of glue, either. Wordlessly, they packed as many supplies as they could. Though heavy and worrisome, the wagon held. Lars and Dewey also decided to carry a few extra cans and bottles as the other four began leaving.

"We might have to come back here a few times to get more stuff," Greg said. "Hell, we might be able to use this as a full-on farm."

"I wouldn't count on that," Kofi said. "Too far away. Not enough room for the others, either." Greg stored that farm idea just in case. They made it back to the road, and Greg sighed. The trip back seemed so much longer. But, if he was right, it was all worth it.

4

The sun had spied upon the surface of the world yet again, and Pearl had become very bored. Rather than standing on multiple parts of the beach, she had decided to play it smarter and take advantage of the lighthouse. She had been perched up there, scanning the sky for about 6 consecutive hours, before the dreaded clutches of boredom took their hold on her. She'd been trained to wait. To think of the plans her Diamond may have for the planets they were set to conquer. They only conquered one, and it wasn't even out of Pink Diamond's choice. Pearl rolled her eyes at the recollection of such a coward, and she was so glad she was decommissioned. Sapphire watched her through the open doorway, wondering when and if she would acknowledge her existence. It took her a moment, but Pearl saw her standing only a foot away from her, and jumped up immediately to summon her weapon. Sapphire merely stood there, knowing that Pearl had no intention of harming her. Not in this timestream. Pearl scoffed.

"What do you want?" Pearl asked, sitting down.

"Simply to converse. Improve morale, you know." Sapphire responded.

"I see. Well, Princess," Pearl stared at her with a pilot light of fury, "Improve my morale." Sapphire stood and thought for a few moments, trying to think of a topic they both might have some interest in.

"You were of Blue Diamond's service, were you not?" Sapphire asked, playing with her hair as she looked out on the ocean. Pearl was silent for a few moments.

"For a time, yes. As were you."

"Indeed. Though, I like to think I saw a bigger picture."

"It is indeed your job." Sapphire cleared her throat politely, dismissively saying "was" under her breath.

"But I was able to view the extent of her power. The pain and destruction of her doing that she never seemed to notice. Perhaps she was simply blinded by pride."

"No, not at all." Pearl turned her body towards Sapphire, becoming invested in such a drab subject. Nothing else would pass the time, after all. "Blue Diamond was a pompous idiot who didn't know how to rule over the tidiness of her own throne room. Not once do I recall my mind saying that she would do good for Homeworld, nor even that she would use her power for nefarious means. An idiot with power. That's all she was."

"If this is the case, that is still extremely dangerous. Especially if she was the most prominent and powerful face of The Authority."

"Most powerful? Please tell me you're joking." Pearl stood up. "Blue Diamond may have had power, but she was no world-ender. She didn't care about the worlds she conquered, and they ended up dying off or being overgrown past the point of safe habitation. Had her reign lasted any longer, the entire Authority may have been in shambles!"

"So, you're saying you wish she wasn't shattered?" Sapphire stared coldly through her bangs into Pearl's very soul. She didn't need any special vision to see the conflict and pain in her. She knew a reflection when she saw one.

"I..." Pearl clenched her teeth, before tearing apart their gaze. Sapphire wasn't sure of what the best route would be, so she grabbed Pearl's hand for comfort. Pearl instantly snatched it away, looking back as though she'd been attacked.

"I'm sorry," Sapphire said, attempting to hide her panic. "I...I just wanted to converse."

"Well, I believe the conversation is over," Pearl said defensively, backing away slowly before breaking into a walk around the lighthouse. Sapphire stood and stared as she walked away. She had never had much interaction with those of a higher class, nor with one she needed to treat as an inferior. She bolted back inside, running down the stairs. What have you done?! She thought to herself. What have you done?! She hid inside a closet, wrapping her shaking arms around herself. She breathed deeply and heavily, clutching her back tightly. She banged her head on the door in front of her, beginning to cry.

"What have I done?" Sapphire asked herself through gasps and tears. "Have I no reasoning?! All I've done is made the poor Pearl even more of a nervous wreck!" Her intentions of improving morale had seemingly failed, which filled her to the brim with self-hatred. The closet opened, and Sapphire tumbled out as she tried to bang her head once more. Amethyst stood in front of her, confused.

"Well?!" Ruby shouted from the level below.

"It's nothing to worry about! Just a..." Amethyst looked closely, seeing the pain on Sapphire causing a pit in her gut. "...bird! Just a pesky Earth bird!"

"Kill it, then!" Ruby commanded. "And try to find Sapphire! I sent her up a while ago!"

"Yes, Commander!" Amethyst held out her hand to help Sapphire up, which she accepted.

"Thank you," Sapphire said, calming down.

"It's the least I could do," Amethyst responded. Sapphire turned towards the stairs to meet up with Ruby, pausing to look at Amethyst again. She stood in such durable armor, yet she was as weak as they come. Then again, what happened wasn't her fault. Sapphire reminisced as she went downstairs. They had been a group of five, searching for another muscle like Bismuth, before they eventually came across an old Kindergarten on Earth. There, they had seen a mountain of Amethyst gemstones, with a small, formed one sitting at the top. The gemstones below her were dull and devoid of any life. They would not reform. Ruby, always having combat on her mind, saw the poor thing as a weapon. An asset. A tool. And that's what she became.

"There you are," Ruby said, looking at Sapphire, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I'd thought that stupid runt had hidden you or something."

"I'll be honest, Ruby," Sapphire began. Ruby gave Sapphire her whole attention, her eyes acting as tantalizing bait, seducing her into saying something that may inevitably result in pain. Sapphire paused, stammering for a moment. "I...don't appreciate the way you treat that Amethyst." Ruby looked at her without any emotion, before turning back to her work.

"Okay." She said. Sapphire waited for this argument to continue, or even to start, but Ruby remained silent and occupied.

"So...?" Ruby smirked, turning towards her again with a look of amused disbelief.

"So...I don't really care what you appreciate. When you become the commander, you can do things your way. Even though that'll probably end up getting us killed." Ruby turned back to her work. "As for me? I will continue to do things in a manner that ensures our victory, as well as having all of us alive to celebrate it."

"Victory? Over Homeworld?"

"Who else?"

"Well, I support you," Ruby rolled her eyes at hearing this, "but what comes after that?" Ruby paused, staring. She breathed deeply and sighed.

"We'll cross that road when we come to it."

"Why? We shouldn't have to." Ruby continued to work, ignoring Sapphire's question. Sapphire took a quick peek into the futures, seeing that all but one of them ended badly. She left through the front door, stepping out under the golden blanket of dawn.

5

A shadow was cast across the surface of Pluto. It was a fairly small one; merely a dot moving at the speed of 17 rockets. It had a polygonal shape, composed of diamonds and triangles to make up a 3-dimensional form, holding the power to kill even the souls of souls. It was a bright green star, its sights centered on a blue marble that had since been cracked. A marble that was thought to have been dealt with fully. As it neared the moons of Neptune, a swarm of smaller dots served as an interstellar cape to such a small and formidable weapon. They checked for any life or heat signatures on the surface of the planet below, yet nothing turned up. Nothing but rocks and ice. That was all she intended to leave behind.

***********************************************************************************************

Pearl's mind was a whirring machine, processing the events that had just transpired. Never in her life did she expect such a strange action from someone who considered themselves superior to her. She contained a hurricane of fear, anger, sadness, and above all, confusion. She looked at the sky once more, shaking with anxiety, which slowly washed away as she saw the trail of what could have been a meteor. Maybe the moon is collapsing, too, Pearl thought. She rolled her eyes, knowing that Ruby would likely scold her if she didn't inspect every single molecule of it. She summoned a telescope, getting a better view of it from a distance. It certainly seemed like a meteor from here, but as she zoomed in closer, she saw it was too smooth to be some sort of rock. She was slightly concerned, yet tried to get a better look. This balcony would serve little good, though. She got up on the railing, backflipping and pushing up onto the roof. Again, she tried the telescope. The object seemed to have been gaining speed, and she noticed a small, blurry, glowing green dot on what she assumed to be the front of it. Was it some sort of bomb? Drone? Missile? She couldn't take any chances, getting especially concerned as it began gaining speed. She hopped back down onto the balcony, rushing inside.

"We've got something!" Pearl shouted. Ruby shot up out of her seat as soon as she heard it.

"Report!" Ruby commanded.

"I'm not quite sure what, but something has just entered the atmosphere. It's smooth, polygonal, and has a green light on it!" Green light... Ruby thought, trying to remember what it could be. Green light. Her eyes widened.

"It must be a Peridot Reconnaissance Pod!" Ruby realized. "Those Homeworld bastards must be getting desperate to send a Peridot."

"What's going on?" Sapphire asked, entering the lighthouse. "I heard Pearl shouting."

"Have you seen the sky?" Ruby asked dismissively, walking past her out the door. Pearl made it to the bottom of the stairs.

"We've got a green light," she said. Pearl also rushed out the door, summoning her weapon. Sapphire stood there, processing. The many futures unfolded before her, confirming their assessment. She ran upstairs, where Amethyst waited at the top. They looked at each other for a few moments, before Amethyst pushed past her, heading outside.

On the beach, Ruby saw the invading craft halt in midair. The green light on its front flashed brightly, repeating the flash in a rhythmic way. It seemed to be at a similar pace to a heartbeat. It was scanning. Ruby grunted, jogging over to Bismuth, who was diligently working despite their unwanted visitor.

"Bismuth!" Ruby shouted. Bismuth slowly turned around, a bit annoyed.

"Yeah?" She asked carelessly.

"Don't give me that! Can you not clearly see our situation?!" Ruby pointed to the invader, and Bismuth looked at it, unsurprised. She rolled her eyes. Ruby stepped angrily towards her, grabbing her by the dreadlocks. "You'd better stop that attitude, soldier. I'm not afraid to stab several swords through your head and send the shards of your broken gemstone back to Homeworld!" Bismuth remained brave in the face of the little flame, with spiteful anger prodding the mask of her face, yet she nodded in cooperation. "Pearl, I need you to get thrown up there and inspect that thing. Bismuth, you'll do the throwing. I'll keep watch." Pearl would usually retaliate or say something snarky, yet Ruby's display of anger persuaded her to do otherwise. Pearl was grabbed by Bismuth's large, bulky hands, the two of them replicating Zeus as he prepared to hurl his thunderbolt.

"You ready, Bootlicker?" Bismuth said, smirking. Pearl looked at her, confused.

"How about you shut up and throw me, Soot Cleaner?" Bismuth scoffed, launching Pearl into the air. As she got closer and closer to the pod, the rhythmic flashing got faster and faster. She summoned a spear, aiming it towards the side of the craft, and expected it to instantly damage it upon impact. Surprisingly, she smashed into the thing after the tip of the spear slid off, and held onto it to prevent falling and having to start all over again. She climbed on top of it, standing up to see anything else unusual around her. A low hum coursed through the pod, vibrating Pearl's body and giving her a warm feeling.

"How're we lookin' up there?" Ruby asked over the communicator. She had grabbed an old pair of binoculars, and was surveying the situation from the lighthouse.

"So, far, not bad. I just need to find a way to get into the pod." Pearl replied.

"No can do, soldier. We need you to hang tight for now."

"And why's that?"

"If I'm right, there's a high-tech Peridot soldier in there; someone with the upper hand when packing a punch. We'll need a way to break through the hull."  
"And what if you're wr--"

"The next word I hear you say had better be 'right.'" Ruby shut off the communicator, searching for Sapphire. "Sapphire!"

"Right here, Commander." Sapphire emerged from the doorway, standing calmly and obediently.

"I'm gonna need a weapon. Big one. Strong one. I'm thinkin' of a missile right now, but if things don't work out with that, you know what to do." There was an uncomfortable silence.  
"Of course, Commander." Ruby nodded, pleased with that interaction, before rushing out over the balcony. Bismuth had been picking up rocks of various sizes, trying to throw them at the side of the hill to break off pieces of it. It was difficult and showed little progress, but it covered more area than her fists. Ruby landed next to her.

"I need something stronger than rock," Ruby said. Bismuth looked at her, confused.

"What for? Isn't the Diamond Servant taking care of things for us?"

"Not exactly. I don't trust that one to break off the branch of a tree. I need her there as a distraction and in case things go wrong." Ruby looked Bismuth dead in the eyes. "Which they won't."

"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself. Or her, for that matter."

"Save it for the Runt, soldier. I don't need to hear your stupid gossip."

"More of an assessment than gossi--"

"We have things to take care of. No time. Something stronger than rock." Bismuth thought for a moment, annoyed by her interrupted conversation.

"The only thing we have that's stronger than rock is metal. But, I'm not sure it'll do more than a scratch for that thing."

"Then we'll lace it with some Homeworld parts. I don't need something big, I just need it to work and now." Bismuth jogged up to the lighthouse, and Ruby followed after taking a glance at the pod. It had to work.

After about 10 minutes of nothing happening, Bismuth had finally made a shell for the missile from an alloy. It was difficult without a proper forge, but it would get the job done. Ruby had been working on the inner mechanisms and explosive sections of the missile that would soon be hidden by the casing. A Homeworld Influx Reactor 1, a "Starblast" propulsion apparatus; many different parts set to serve a destructive purpose.

"Let's be ready to launch this thing in the next 2 minutes!" Ruby commanded. She then reactivated her communicator, training her eyes on Pearl. "Alright, Pearl. We've got a missile aimed towards the hull of the pod. You're gonna have to hang on tight if you're gonna stay on there."

"You're blowing up this pod while I'm on it?!" Pearl shouted.

"'Fraid so. Hang tight; you've got a minute or so." Ruby deactivated the communicator just as Pearl was about to speak again, regrouping with the others outside the lighthouse. "Bismuth! How're we lookin'?"

"Well, it'll work. I thi--" Bismuth began.

"Good. It works. Get ready to fire."

"Wait! I haven't calibrated the damage spread!"

"Don't need to. If it does damage, that's all that matters."

"But what about Pearl?" Sapphire intervened. "If that thing destroys the entire pod, Pearl might be destroyed as well!"

"Sacrifices can be made, Sapphire. You should know this."

"Yes, but let's say w--"

"I don't have time for this!"

"Wait, listen to me for a second." Ruby looked at Sapphire angrily. She had never interrupted Ruby's thoughts before, so it was either very serious or pointless. Perhaps even both. "Would it make sense to send down one Peridot to inspect one section of the planet? I figure that they have more-whether on the planet or outside of it-hooked up to some sort of network. If this one goes offline, they'll triangulate on its position. Doing this could call upon even more Peridots that we'll have to deal with!"

"Or it could just be a scout pod." Ruby retorted. "Scouts going offline can be written off as a bunch of things, but mainly that the planet has defenses that can measure up to Homeworld's. They'll just ignore it and conquer its moon or something."

"Your 5-Century old knowledge of how Homeworld operates is most likely useless at this point, Commander." Ruby's eyes widened, and Sapphire realized what she just said. Ruby's teeth clenched, as did her fists.

"You're lucky that you're of use, Snowflake. I don't even want to imagine what I'd do to you were you not useful." Ruby turned back around. "Fire!" Bismuth looked at her hesitantly, before shifting her hand into a blade, sparking a trail of fuel leading up to the missile. The fire burst out of the rocket, causing it to bolt into the air like a streak of lightning. It flew towards the pod with great speed and reckoning force. Pearl saw this, trying to figure out where the point of impact would be, and shifting over as far from it as possible. No turning back. As Ruby watched spitefully, she began to feel remorseful. Although she didn't want to admit it, Sapphire had a point. She hurriedly grabbed her communicator. The missile was beginning to lose fuel, but it was still set to impact the underside of the pod. It finally made its devastating impact into the side of it, causing a cloud of fiery destruction that swallowed the craft. Pearl curled up on the side of it, grabbing on tightly so as not to fall. As the explosion began to settle, Ruby activated her communicator. "You all right up there?" She asked, cursing herself for doing so.

"Unfortunately!" Pearl yelled. The group waited for the clouds to dissipate, and Pearl leaned over the side to see the result of the impact. She was impressed and discouraged. "A dent." She said. Ruby stood there in disbelief.

"Say again." She said, anger welling up within her.

"A dent; your missile made a dent," Pearl repeated. She saw just a small dip in the side of the craft, a few streaks of darkness from the heat decorating it like a destructive flower. Pearl, not wanting to waste more time, looked around the craft for any seams she could exploit. There was a cockpit with a large, bubble-shaped window in the front, sealed fairly poorly. Perhaps the missile helped after all? Pearl summoned her spear again, inserting it into the seam and trying to pry it open. It took all her concentration to keep her spear there, and eventually it was able to pay off. It took a minute, but the cockpit popped open and the window fell downwards, hinging at the bottom. It stopped halfway, flattening itself to make a platform. She peered at the interior, seeing that nobody was in it. Pearl stepped onto it, but Ruby's voice stopped her from continuing.

"Hold it. What are you doing?" Ruby interrogated.

"Entering the craft. There's no one here." Pearl replied.

"No one there?" Ruby pondered to herself. "So it's just a decoy?"

"Must be. Though...if this is a decoy..." Pearl sat and calculated, analyzing the situation. She came to realize what was going on. "...then..." Her thoughts were interrupted by a barrage of green pellets, glowing like stars and burning just as much. Pearl hurried inside, closing the cockpit to protect herself. Ruby saw from the ground that there was another pod just in front of it, uncloaking itself and firing at Pearl. Anger filled her to the point where she wanted to squeeze the communicator.

"Pearl! Can you activate the weapons system?" Ruby shouted. Pearl looked around, finding it difficult to concentrate with all this noise and light. She saw five, deep holes on both walls beside her, as well as ten circles on the panel in front of her. She'd never seen a layout like this before.

"I don't think so. I doubt anything I do will work!" Pearl responded. The window began to crack because of the attacker's force.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had made it onto the beach, trying to figure out what to do.

"I can probably throw something at it. Set it off course a bit." Bismuth said.

"Didn't work last time, did it?!" Ruby said. She looked back, reminding herself that the more they thought, the less time they'd have. She saw no other choice. "Sapphire!" Sapphire looked at Ruby, knowing what she had in mind just by the look on her face.

Pearl had been trying to figure out ways to shield herself, or even manually reconfigure the pod, when a holographic screen appeared above the panel. It showed a Peridot with some sort of mask on, and her left eye was in the shape of a diamond.

"Hello," Peridot said.

"A Peridot. I take it you're the one firing at me?" Pearl asked, continuing her work.

"Trying to rewire the pod, I see? That won't do you much good."  
"It's worked before." One of the panels popped off, showing a few different streams of glowing energy.

"How many years ago was that? 200? 400? Times change, Pearl."

"Indeed. So, that's why--" A small burst of energy was emitted from the streams of energy, and the lights on the interior shut off, including the hologram. Pearl, frantic, tried to find a way to get it back on. The window finally broke, and the barrage ceased, instead replaced by a hum that was steadily rising. Pearl looked at the enemy pod, seeing four green dots at the vertices of its face slowly getting brighter and brighter along with the hum. "Oh no," Pearl whispered, skimming the pod for some sort of weapon or shield. The hum was interrupted by a loud 'clang!' Pearl looked again, seeing that the enemy pod was wobbling in its spot, before seeing a tall figure tearing at the back of it. Green sparks flew from the back, and the pod began to fall into the water below. The figure jumped onto Pearl's pod, pulling her out. "Well, hello, Garnet. It's been a while." Pearl said, exasperated.

"Keep your mouth shut and don't move," Garnet replied. She put Pearl's body over her shoulder, jumping back down to the beach and making a sizeable impact in the sand. Pearl hopped back down, feeling a bit dizzy. Garnet looked herself over, clenching and unclenching her fists. "We really need to do this more often. This always feels great." Her voice changed from a confident, powerful joy to a gentle and motherly sorrow. "The reason we don't is because of the destruction we cause." "Maybe so! But it still benefits us in the end!" "But it still hurts others!" "The only others who get hurt--" Garnet began to shake, and eventually the two of them un-fused, standing face to face.

"--are the enemies!" Ruby shouted. Sapphire stood with her head down, not responding.

"And this," Sapphire mumbled, "is why Garnet never works."

"Oh, it works!" Ruby retorted. "It works perfectly! It's just you who always ends up whining about it."

"Guys," Bismuth interrupted, looking to the sky.

"Quiet!" Ruby shouted.

"Really. Commander, eyes up," Pearl said, following Bismuth's gaze. A green hue began to glow from above the clouds.

"Excuse me, who gives the orders, again?!" Ruby snapped. She caught a glimpse of the sky, however, and tried to see what was going on. A gargantuan, green silhouette peeked through the breaks in the clouds, shining down equally green streams of eerie light, illuminating the entire coast. Ruby took one look at it, and instantly knew what was about to happen. "Oh no," Ruby said, a mixture of anger and fear coursing through her being. She quickly turned to Sapphire. "We need to get off this beach immediately. If we're going to survive this, we need to spread out."

"What's going on, Commander?" Amethyst asked, full of terror.

"What do you think, Runt? Nothing good!" Ruby pointed towards the city. "Go! Go! We don't have time for this!" The silhouette took form as a giant swarm of green spheres, turning the clouds a grassy green, and likewise to everything else that had once held such a unique hue. Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire began to run, while Pearl and Bismuth stayed behind.

"Bismuth, go! I can handle myself." Pearl said.

"As if! You can barely hold your stance in a breeze!" Bismuth retorted.

"Even then, my life is nothing for you to waste your time on! MOVE!" Bismuth rolled her eyes and scoffed, before running up the beach just as the others were. A loud hiss was heard from the swarm, and a green ball shot down into the beach, not far from Pearl. It made a loud 'boomff' as the sand exploded around it and it activated. She rushed over to it, pouncing on it in an effort to damage it somehow. She knew what it was, and she tried then to gain some leverage underneath it and push it out. Its smooth, glossy surface didn't aid her in her efforts, instead trekking on as if there was no spear at all. It burrowed down into the sand, beyond Pearl's reach. She remained determined.

***********************************************************************************************

In the train station, everyone had begun to feel very tired, and boredom was beginning to creep up on them. A few people had been playing a card game for the past hour, restarting it every now and then or even letting other people win on purpose. They were grateful for their find from the barn. So grateful, that they decided to ration the food. Greg was sitting on the edge of the platform, lost in thought. Recollections of things from the past. Things he enjoyed. Things he regretted. Even unearthing some things he'd forgotten. Connie was leaning on the wall by the entrance to the tunnel, as always, and had seemingly started dozing off. This was certainly an unusual sight considering her fortitude and determination. There was a dull sort of peace, that was for certain. Everything was interrupted by a muffled 'boom' from outside. Everyone's attention was reasserted to this noise and the possible causes of it. No one said anything, and only a handful of people (including Greg and Connie) moved cautiously to the end of the tunnel. Then, there was another 'boom' from the other end. The end that had caved in. Most felt confused, yet the rest felt worried. Had the Invaders gotten into the other area? Would they be upon them shortly?

"Cover the entrances. Both of them," Greg said, skeptical.

"Greg, what is going on?" Smiley asked. Greg merely shrugged. How was he supposed to know? There was a third 'boom' directly above them, and they could begin to hear a strange whirring. It was a sound similar to that of a finger rubbing across a lenticular image. A sound of friction. It increased in pitch, and there was a noticeable vibration beginning to emanate from the ceiling.

"Everyone, stand away from the center of the room. Hug the walls, if you can." People rushed to the walls as the noise got progressively louder and louder. The friction began to sound more like a saw in motion, and cracks in the ceiling began to form. Suddenly, a large, green sphere broke through the ceiling, plummeting to the ground with immense weight. Most people screamed, thinking that this would be their last moment. The sphere continued descending into the Earth, leaving behind an ever-deepening hole in its circumference. Unsure of what to do, Greg went with his first instinct. "Everybody out. Go through the tunnel. Now!" Everyone rushed through the tunnel, frantic to escape. The darkness at the end had begun to dissipate with a faint, green glow, Greg, being the first to reach the opening, was the first one to gasp. The sky had been sprinkled with bright, green dots, some of them slamming into the ground at unprecedented speed and velocity. He could see a few figures sprinting around and trying to outrun these orbs. He knew it was them, and wondered if this was their fault. Connie walked up next to him.

"What do we do?" She asked. "We can't go back in the tunnel; it's been compromised."

"We should fight it!" Smiley chimed. "This is our city! We should be the ones to take it back!"  
"Yeah, because that worked so well the first time," Kofi retorted.

"What if we follow those other people down there? Maybe they can protect us?" PeeDee suggested. Greg turned around, staring directly at him with stern aggression. He then looked at everyone else.

"Does anyone agree with that?" Greg asked, receiving the looks of deer in headlights. "Because you need to push that idea outta your heads. Those 'people?' They won't help us. They don't care to help us. They only care about themselves and what they have planned. So, we leave them to their business, and they leave us to ours: survival." All except Ronaldo and Connie seemed ashamed. They looked like children who had been scolded by their parents. Greg took a quick sigh to calm himself down, before turning back to the display of chaos. "The best plan now is to get as far away from this city. Maybe even head to the farm."

"Where would we all fit?" Dewey asked, "as Kofi said, that barn wasn't exactly the largest--"

"I DON'T KNOW, BILL! I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN!" Greg snapped. An uncomfortable silence blanketed them once more, the only sound coming from the distant booms and whirs of the invading machines. Greg marched forward, heading out towards the road. Reluctantly, everyone followed him. After only a few steps, the booming ceased, and the wind took its place. Everyone stopped, surveying the situation, confused. There were still some-200 orbs that hung in the sky, yet their motion had stopped. The figures below seemed more frantic and determined, which was not a good sign. Sure enough, a giant, glowing green wall erupted from the ground in front of them. Everyone jumped back a bit, afraid of it and the buzzing that followed. It was like a glowing, translucent curtain that grew and rose up, stopping a good mile or so above them. They looked around, seeing that it was some sort of rim or wall that surrounded them.

"W-What is it?" PeeDee asked, quivering in terror. Greg looked back at the figures below, seeing that they had stopped and seemed more frustrated. One of them even stomped on the ground, forming small but noticeable cracks.

"I'm not sure," Greg responded, processing. "But it's not good." Greg looked back at the group, seeing Sadie and Lars standing next to the wall and talking to each other. It seemed that they were daring each other or making a bet. Lars then reached out and was about to touch it before Greg shouted at them. Their reply to his outburst was two pairs of angry eyes. Lars touched it anyways, and he immediately stiffened up, his eyes a shiny, dark blue. Sadie looked at him, shocked, and stumbled back in fright. Greg rushed over, but Smiley got to him first, pulling Lars away. It seemed to take him great effort, but it paid off in the end. The two of them fell on their backs, and Lars was sweating and breathing heavily. Greg knelt down, looking at both of them. "You two okay?" It took them a second but they both nodded, and Lars got up. He was very shaky and weak, but he stood with Greg's help. Sadie was flustered, but found her words.

"What'd you do that for, you idiot?!" Sadie shouted. Lars looked back at her, equally as angry.

"It was your idea, you blob!" Lars snapped. Greg hadn't heard him speak in so long that he'd forgotten the kid even had a voice.

"Shut it. We don't have time for bickering and shouting when we're trapped in a giant, green cup."

"One that fuckin' shocks you if you touch it," Lars added.

"Then what do we do?" Smiley asked. Everyone was silent as Greg stood there, thinking.

"We need to head to the center of the city," Connie said. "Find shelter there."

"What about the flying Invaders?" asked someone in the group.

"At this point? I'd say they're the least of our concerns. Besides, do you even see any?" Everyone scanned the spotted, green sky, and they could all agree that the only things in it were the orbs and a ship. A damaged ship, no less. Greg took this in, thinking it over a bit more. What if it's a trick? He grunted. "No. I'm not willing to take the risk." Connie looked at him, surprised and hurt. "Let's see what we can do with the tunnel." He looked at Connie, their eyes meeting. Her gaze was fierce and angry, glints of tears even. His was scared and saddened. It was a look that said his apology for him, even if it wasn't accepted. She walked away from him, heading back to the rest of the group.

6

"How much longer until those things do their work?" Bismuth asked. She, Ruby, and Sapphire stood near the edge of the city, looking at the lime-colored barrier surrounding them. Ruby was still very angry, but she was attempting to keep herself calm and reserved.

"I...don't know. I..." Ruby mumbled, before screaming in frustration.

"Maybe if we try going over the rims of them?" Sapphire suggested. "That ship might still be able to work."

"But, according to Pearl, it could only be piloted by a Peridot."

"Who even sends two ships when there's only one pilot?" Bismuth wondered.

"It's a Recon Peridot. If she finds her targets, she's gotta have a way to fish them out. And we fell for it!" Ruby hit herself in the head.

"Well, standing around and whining about it won't get us anything but wasted time." Bismuth said. Ruby looked at her with a fiery rage, and Sapphire clenched her teeth, holding out her hand in a weak effort to prevent anything. Ruby kept this glare, before walking back to the beach.

"She's right," Ruby said. Bismuth smiled, happy with this interaction. She and Sapphire followed Ruby through the barren streets. As they did, Sapphire noticed their numbers.

"Where are the other two?" Sapphire asked. Bismuth looked behind them, seeing this as well.

"Hm. I know Pearl was on the beach. Not too sure about the Runt. Could've sworn she was behind us." They continued their journey back to the beach, with Sapphire keeping an eye out for Amethyst. Just in case.

***********************************************************************************************

Pearl was stuck on the other side of the neon curtain containing the city. She had tried once to break through it with her spear, yet it was refracted each time. The holes that the orbs had created upon impact had quickly filled with sand, and any sort of resistance or damage she attempted would be futile. She berated herself for being so weak and useless, which gave her the motivation to keep going. She looked to the lighthouse, knowing it would be of no use, yet staring at it longingly. Suddenly, the sounds of grunts and groans were heard from behind her. She twirled around, ready to attack, yet found it to be Amethyst with a few scrapes and bruises. Pearl calmed down, while also feeling great indignation for their disposition.

"Why?" Pearl asked herself, "Why did it have to be you?" Amethyst fell to her knees in front of Pearl, seemingly bowing to her in tremendous agony.

"I'm sorry, Pearl. I...I just didn't want to die." Amethyst managed to say. Pearl groaned in annoyance.

"Where were you? I'd thought you were with the rest of them."

"I...was. But, I ran off. I...tumbled down a hill...and fell on some rocks. Then...the sh-shield appeared, and--"

"Goodness, this'll take all day," Pearl said. She readied her spear above Amethyst's head. "Don't keep me waiting." Amethyst saw this, and would usually react in fear, yet she also knew it would be a short-term solution to her pain. Pearl brought down her blade, and Amethyst poofed in a cloud of smoke and dust. Her purple gem fell to the sand below, nesting in it comfortably. Pearl stood there valiantly, awaiting her return. A green glow began to emanate from beneath the surface of the water, and Pearl refocused on this phenomenon. She knew of many strange things that could happen on Earth, and this could easily be bioluminescent algae. Yet it kept getting brighter. And closer. Pearl readied her weapon, aiming it at the water and awaiting some sort of sea monster. She glanced back at the lifeless gemstone behind her. Come on, Runt, Pearl thought. Now's not a good time! The glowing became even brighter, and Pearl could just barely see the source of it. It was a triangle. A bright, glowing green triangle that was slowly getting closer to the surface. Pearl gripped her spear even tighter, getting into a defensive stance and training her spear directly at the triangle. The top of Peridot's hair poked up through the surface like the fin of a shark, and the rest of her head soon followed. Her gemstone was emitting the eerie glow, and a cone of light was cast upon the beach in front of her. It didn't take long for Peridot to notice them. Pearl lunged at her, no longer waiting for Amethyst to reform, and was knocked out of the air by a blast from Peridot's fingers. Peridot then saw the gemstone on the beach, rushing over to pick it up. Her foot was then pinned down by Pearl's spear, and she forcefully halted mid-stride. Peridot looked back, and was knocked to the ground by an incoming punch from Pearl. Pearl then kicked Amethyst's gemstone away from them, causing it to bounce over in that direction. Peridot pulled the spear out of her foot, noticing a rather concerning hole where it had impacted, but was then knocked back yet again as Pearl gracefully kicked her in the chest with both legs, grabbing her spear in the process. Pearl then stood on top of Peridot, the spear trained at her throat.

"Finally," Peridot grunted. "Face-to-face."

"Let's hope you'll keep yours," Pearl said with confidence. Peridot began to laugh uncontrollably, confusing her captor.

"'Let's hope you'll keep yours?' Could you come up with a more pathetic threat?" Peridot asked in disbelief. "For all your years of experience and fighting, you sure are clueless on intimidation." Pearl stared back at her with disdain. They both heard a harmonic noise from behind, and saw a white glow. Amethyst had reformed, which made Pearl unconsciously sink the spear a bit deeper towards Peridot's neck.

"It's about time, Runt!" Pearl shouted, turning to look at her.

"I'm sorr--" Amethyst began.

"No! No no; sorry isn't going to cut it this time!" Pearl looked back at Peridot. Though her mouth remained covered by the mask, Pearl could tell that she was grinning in amusement.

"You really are terrible at this," Peridot said.

"At what? Holding you captive for the time being?" Peridot thought about it for a moment, choosing her words.

"Yes and no," was the reply. "You're fine at holding me captive. It's keeping me that way that's the problem." Ten beams of hot, green light shot out from Peridot's fingers in a grid, aimed at Pearl's legs. Her reflexes were quick, however, and she was able to jump over them, which gave Peridot enough time to escape. Her fingers quickly gravitated back to her arms, and Pearl landed elegantly in front of her.

"Even so," Pearl said, menacing, "you won't be getting past us." She raised her spear up, aiming it directly at Peridot.

"Don't need to," Peridot said, nonchalant. The ground began to shake violently around them, and the two opposers looked around in confusion. They saw the wall behind them begin to crack the surrounding ground, and it seemed to rise ever so slightly. Meanwhile, Peridot's pod emerged from the water, and its owner entered soon after. Pearl, her attention refocused, attempted to hit the pod and incapacitate it with her spear. It merely bounced off of the hull, plummeting back towards the water like a missile. The pod then ascended quite fast, moving up over the rim of the holographic wall. Pearl looked on, anger boiling in her body. She glared at Amethyst.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" Pearl snapped. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING?! No thanks to you she's now even closer to WINNING!" Amethyst was on the verge of tears, and covered her face with her hair, curling up into a ball on the ground. She began to hyperventilate, shake, and sweat, suffering a panic attack right in front of a furious Pearl. Pearl watched this happen, hearing her pitiful whimpers and gasps in attempts to calm down, feeling genuinely sorrowful before focusing on the task at hand. The large selection of land continued to rise with great force. Flows of dirt, rocks, and miscellaneous debris rained down upon the growing crater below. Pearl, taking a great risk, slid down into it, moving underneath the giant, ascending mass of land. There was still an extensive neon-green blanket of impenetrable energy spanning underneath it, making it difficult to find some piece of bare rock. The space became narrower, only slowly growing into a comfortable size. Rocks popped and tumbled around her, and a deep rumbling vibrated the Earth like a bell. After a few more minutes of hurried movements, Pearl finally found it. Despite the dim lighting, Pearl could still see that there was a relatively small patch of open space. It was a dark, crude circle in the center of the bright green, and it felt very cold and hard. "RUNT!" Pearl called, her voice reverberating throughout the cavernous area. Amethyst did not respond, likely too far away to hear or say anything. Pearl sighed in frustration, before rushing back towards the wide rim of light, finding her trek back to be much easier than before. Pebbles tapped her on the shoulders and a few small rocks hit her in the back of the head. It left a prominent yet weak aching pain that faded away quickly. She was hardly even aware of its existence; her mind was too focused on her objective. Sunlight poured onto her face, kissing it with a warmth that was oddly chilling to her form. "Runt!" Pearl called again. This time, Amethyst bolted over as soon as she was summoned. She refused to look Pearl in the eyes. "I think I've figured it out. Do you think you can drill a hole upwards?" Amethyst shrugged. Though she was about to scream, Pearl took a deep breath. "Shrugs won't cut it. I need yes or no."

"Yes. I can try." Amethyst replied weakly. Pearl sighed, motioning for her to come along. Once they returned to the bare spot, they found it to be a little too out of reach. Pearl gave Amethyst a boost, and Amethyst shifted into a drill, which moved upwards before falling back down, clumsily. Pearl punched the hard, cold ground beneath her in frustration, before trying something out to help. She summoned her spear, and ordered Amethyst to summon her whip. As the rock continued rising, they both knew it wouldn't be long before boosting was a futile maneuver. She tied Amethyst's whip to the end of her spear, and aimed it at the spot like a harpoon. Throwing it with great force and accuracy, the spear firmly lodged itself in the bedrock. The whip, like a rope, began to slowly unfurl, now a small tail to the massive chunk of rock and dirt. Pearl took a small moment to congratulate herself for her quick thinking, and even patted Amethyst on the back, though Amethyst cringed in fear of being hurt. Pearl, guiltily recoiling her hand, refocused. It was a good job, but that rope won't last forever.

"Grab on," Pearl said, doing so herself. Amethyst remained obedient.

7

Earthquakes resonated throughout the ground, and vibrations massaged the moving feet of the Crystal Blades. Ruby was able to make it close enough to the edge to see that the city was slowly ascending, and they were closed in. They were like insects in a bowl, and they couldn't get out. Ruby's head throbbed with fury, the fires of a thousand suns burning within her soul. She was a furnace that held the power of supernovas, only confined to a smaller, weaker form. She punched the containment walls, it shocking her back, leaving a numbing sting in her arm. She barely flinched at the sensation.

"Great!" She exclaimed. "GREAT! What's next, huh?" Sapphire came up to her, wanting to comfort her or calm her down, yet her guilt about Pearl overtook her actions, freezing her in place behind her commander. Bismuth arrived not long after, annoyed with their containment. Something caught her attention, and she looked over to see Peridot's ship rising up and over the rim of the walls. She rolled her eyes.

"Here comes the Peridot." Bismuth stated, pointing to the ship that began to lower itself into the city's center. Ruby looked at it as well, finally having something she could channel her anger towards.

"Let's get a move on," Ruby said through gritted teeth. She and Sapphire ran towards it, while Bismuth watched angrily, before reluctantly following suit. Her legs were getting tired.

They arrived in a matter of minutes, seeing the craft on top of a building (one of the few that still had a roof). Ruby was about to run up to it, but Bismuth shouted out "Wait!" Ruby halted, turned around, and looked at Bismuth to display her rage.

"It could be another trick. We should search the area first," Bismuth said.

"Unless that's exactly what the Peridot wants us to think so we'll have our backs to her," Sapphire suggested.

"Fine, princess. Use your bullshit to look into the future. See what happens there."

"Both possibilities exist equally," Sapphire calmly replied. "I'm not sure which one will come to pass for us," Ruby screamed in exasperation.

"Fine! Bismuth! Search! Sapphire, you're with me!" Ruby barked. Sapphire did just that, and Bismuth shook her head, looking around. Ruby found that the window to the cockpit was an opaque, glowing green. The smooth surface of it didn't allow for an easy grip, and it couldn't easily be pried open. Ruby tried her best, though, attempting to wedge her fingers into the seam and pull it, before giving up and punching the window in the center. Neither of these proved to be very effective.

"Nothin' down here!" Bismuth reported.

"Commander," Sapphire said, "if the Peridot was in the pod, I'm sure she would have shot at us by now. Or found some way to deter us from the pod."

"Unless that's exactly what the Peridot wants us to think!" Ruby said, mockingly using Sapphire's words against her. Sapphire flinched, realizing her flaw, and clenched her fists tightly, causing the tips of her fingers to go numb. She turned away from Ruby, who began whaling on the window in a desperate attempt to break it. As the wetness dried from her eyelid, Sapphire saw a distant, green figure moving up the road towards the humans. They had been tricked!

"Command--" Sapphire uttered.

"Quiet! I'm busy!" Ruby said, shutting her up. Sapphire's emotions, which had already been a constantly filling, boiling pot, spilled out as she addressed Ruby again.

"THE PERIDOT IS OVER THERE!" Sapphire blurted. Ruby stopped her efforts, looking at Sapphire with bewilderment. She caught a glimpse of the invading Gem, though, and slowly walked past Sapphire, glaring at her. Ruby leaped off of the edge, jogging towards their enemy.

***********************************************************************************************

Despite the worrisome earthquakes, Greg, Smiley, and Kofi were sent back into the tunnel and see how they might rebuild or continue their stay. Meanwhile, the rest of the group were left outside as Connie and Ronaldo guarded the entryway. Well, half of it. The tunnel had been split in half by the green barrier. Connie looked at Ronaldo after a bit, and he remained as still as a statue, vigilantly holding his shotgun. Annoyed with the silence and lack of wind, Connie decided to fill the silence with small talk.

"So," she began, "what made you decide to become, like, a soldier."

"The Fryman family has a history in the military," Ronaldo stated, pausing. "Granted, most of them were cooks, but I've decided to go back to my roots in times of crisis. Besides, it feels like my true purpose at the moment."

"Right. Yeah." They stood in silence once more. Ronaldo's eyes never moved from their aimless gaze. "Where'd you get that gun from?"

"I used to go hunting with my dad up in Woodbrook. He let me keep it once I turned eighteen, and I started hunting lizards with it. I simply felt a bond with it."

"There...aren't any lizards in Woodbrook." Ronaldo then looked at her, before rolling his eyes. At least his concentration was broken momentarily. More silence, this one lasted for about two minutes. "I hear that you and that Lars guy have a history. That true?"

"You hear this from whom?" Ronaldo inquired, passively.

"I think it was Jenny. Maybe Sadie. Definitely a girl."

"If anyone, it was S. Miller." He looked at the ground briefly, his brow furrowed just a bit. "That witch," he muttered to himself, before stiffening up again. "Barriga and I were friends as adolescents. It ended as quickly as it started."

"I can tell you two have some major differences. Surprised the word was even true," Connie said, looking off to the distance. She noticed Peridot's ship miles away at the edge of town. Though she wouldn't admit it, her heart took a nosedive and her nerves chilled themselves. "Enemy at the perimeter." Ronaldo readied his weapon, scanning the surrounding area. "3 o'clock." He turned accordingly, seeing the ship slowly sweeping the streets, before landing on top of a building.

"Hardly a threat right now," he stated, "but remain cautious." Connie nodded, even though he wasn't looking at her. His post had now been moved from right outside the entrance to the side of the hill, keeping a firm eye on the ship. They heard footsteps from within the tunnel, getting progressively louder. Everyone then started flooding out, carrying bags and boxes with much struggle. They were making progress, at any rate. Greg, who was carrying two cardboard boxes in either arm, then walked up to Connie, following her gaze.

"Oh, boy," Greg said.

"It landed on the roof a little over a minute ago. I didn't see anything exit it, so I think we should be safe," Connie reported.

"Yeah," Greg replied, "unless it's a time bomb." This possibility struck Connie like lightning. If its explosion was big enough to reach them, and they were at the edge of the containment area, they would have no way to escape it.

"Then what should we do?" Connie asked, hiding the shakiness in her voice. Greg, too, was stiff with fear, but had to hold strong if they were going to survive. Try to, at least. He looked to the figures below. He saw that the small, red one, had just hopped off the roof with the ship, and slowly began to run towards them, the other two following not long after. Weird, Greg thought. I doubt they'd be coming up here to help us out... Greg's thoughts were quickly interrupted when some of the people up ahead started screaming bloody murder. Everyone's attention was reasserted, and they saw what the problem was. Onion, who had dropped his boxes, frantically ran back to the group, carrying Jamie's hat. Behind him was a pile of dust and a fast approaching, bright green Invader. Everybody, Greg included, began to panic. "THE HILL!" Greg shouted, "RUN INTO TOWN! QUICKLY!" As everyone frantically rushed down the hill, Greg ran over to Onion, his face petrified with the look of terror. As Greg tried to pick the little bugger up, a flash of green light turned the poor boy into a cloud of dust. Greg looked at the Invader, who switched to another floating cylinder, almost like a revolver, before taking aim once more. Greg dodged, tumbling down the hill and hitting the back or side of his head a few times. As he reached a stopping point, he was dizzy and his vision was fuzzy. He tried to look back at the Invader, it being nothing more than a green blob atop the hill. It then disappeared and he heard some yelling up there. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling great warmth from it. He looked at his hand, seeing large amounts of bright red coating it. Great. He turned towards the town again, stumbling down the hill clumsily. Two figures then ran up to him, and he took a delayed defensive stance. Everything felt dreamlike, or like he wasn't even in reality at all. Voices in his head told him to stand down. Voices that sounded familiar. Were they even in his head? His legs suddenly felt weak, and he began to feel tremendously nauseous, before finally collapsing on the ground.

***********************************************************************************************

Ruby had tackled Peridot, allowing one of the humans more time to escape. A few lasers were shot, though they had no real aim and missed Ruby every time. Bismuth soon came over to help her out, kicking Peridot in the side as hard as she could, narrowly missing Ruby. Peridot rolled over a few feet before hitting the barrier. Ruby got up, catching her breath.

"Careful, Bismuth. You wouldn't wanna hit me, would you?" Ruby warned. Bismuth side-eyed her, carrying on. Peridot got up without much coordination, but was able to confront Bismuth as she approached. Peridot shot out an array of laser beams, moving two on each side as a sweeping grid. Bismuth was able to duck in time, and Ruby leaped into the air, stomping on Peridot's face as she landed and slightly cracking her visor. A small swarm of Peridot's fingers hit Ruby out of the air, beginning to shoot at her and Bismuth.

"Quite impressive," Peridot said, "that you needed all that effort just to crack my visor." She was about to walk towards them, but almost fell forward when she found her feet were stuck to the ground, frozen in ice. Sapphire then floated around in front of her, and punched her in the face, causing her to fall back.

"Nice one, Snowflake!" Bismuth said, the firing lasers ceasing. Peridot, a bit dazed, remained determined, and commanded the orbs, via a holographic screen, to triangulate on their location. Ruby tried to grab Peridot's fingers, but they immediately heated up and burned her hand. Ruby held on for about ten seconds, before taking her hand back and inspecting her damaged appendage. Bismuth then punched Peridot in the face, cracking the visor a bit more and knocking her out. Sapphire saw the fast-approaching orbs, and motioned for the others to move out. Ruby looked curiously at the tunnel, though, remaining stationary.

"Pick up the Peridot. We'll take her back to the lighthouse for questioning," Ruby commanded Bismuth.

"But what about her fingers?" Bismuth asked, tearing Peridot off the ground. "She might just laser her way out." Ruby looked at Peridot's unconscious body, which was draped over Bismuth's right shoulder.

"We'll have to try and get 'em off before she wakes up, then." The orbs continued getting closer, though at a relatively slow rate. A few bolts were shot at them randomly, but it was nothing too concerning. Ruby walked into the tunnel, which was illuminated by the green wall that divided it. It was admittedly disconcerting to be inside of a tunnel and see the world beyond as it slowly shrank below the rising chunk of land they were on. There was a crack in the ceiling that had been plugged with a cup of some sort. She wandered into the main station after a little while, which was also divided by the wall, and saw that the rubble that had once been there had begun collapsing, and the floor was being covered in dust and debris. There were cracks that had spread out from the orb's burrowing holes, and Ruby could see that the hole itself went down a few miles. It would be of no use. Continuing to explore this abandoned hideout, Ruby found a few planks of wood, some old train parts, and a crate containing about three pistols; old ones. Could be useful, she thought, picking up the crate and carrying it out the tunnel. On her way out, she stepped on an old, dirtied teddy bear.

***********************************************************************************************

After what felt like hours, Pearl was finally able to poke her spear through the shallow ground above. It was a spire that rose roughly out of the street, and Pearl let Amethyst climb above her to punch through and make the hole larger so that both of them could resurface. Rocks and dirt poured onto their faces, but so did light. Light from a slowly setting sun. The two of them crawled out of the hole, scuttling like insects away from it. They now had a way out, too. Having exerted themselves tirelessly for the past twenty minutes, they decided to rest for a few moments. They heard footsteps, but their forms ached. Pearl tried to maneuver her head to see who was there, and saw a rather small crowd of humans looking at them. She and Amethyst quickly jumped up, readying their weapons.

"Hel-lo," Pearl said, unsure if they understood what she was saying. She threw in gestures in an effort to better communicate. "Do not come any closer."

"You speak English?" asked a yellow-haired boy, timidly. This also came as a surprise to Pearl.

"Yes. I guess so."

"Um, hi..." the boy said, hiding behind a wider, dark-skinned man in a blue shirt.

"Can you help us?" the man asked, stern yet exasperated. Pearl stood at ease, still holding her spear. She looked at Amethyst, then looked back at the people. They were both just as lost and afraid. Just as hopeless. Except, the humans were even weaker. Once they were mortally wounded, they couldn't simply reform and try again. Pearl pitied them, and considered this. They did have a way for them to escape. But Ruby would likely be furious for helping out these people. She then saw a smaller one, wearing a brown jacket that was much too big for her, trying to hold up a rather large, limp man with a head covered in blood alongside a skinny, dark-skinned man. Was he dead? Dead or not, it's clear that man meant something to them if they were willing to drag along his bleeding body. "Please," the man pressed, "we don't have a lot of time and I don't think we'll be safe in here." Pearl saw the rest of her group heading down a distant hill, carrying a familiar, green body with them. Pearl then stared the man straight in the eyes, analyzing the fear and pain in them, before nodding.

"We just emerged from a hole that will take you down outside of the barrier. If you can descent safely and orderly, you should be able to make it out of here." Pearl stepped aside, displaying the hole. "You may want a rope of some kind."

"On it!" declared a yellow-haired man dressed in a uniform, who quickly ran off into the town. This was indeed an odd accumulation of their species. Pearl wondered if this was all that was left of humanity, sighing. The blue-shirted man looked at Pearl, and she looked back, suspicious.

"Thank you," the man breathed. Pearl merely looked on, before glancing at the ground, looking back at him, and turning away towards Ruby and the others. Amethyst, still hiding her face, hurriedly followed her. They both ran for about a minute before Amethyst spoke up.

"Why did we help them?" she asked. "The Commander won't be happy about this."

"If there's one thing I've learned from experience, it's that the people you serve don't always make intelligent decisions. Ruby is far from an exception," Pearl said. It didn't take much longer for the Crystal Blades to fully reunite. They all stopped abruptly, looking at each other, but Ruby was looking at the yellow-haired human as he returned with what seemed to be a cable of some sort. Perhaps from a power line. Ruby then looked at Pearl, her brow furrowed.

"You made a tunnel to get out of here...and you're giving it to those...those filthy creatures?!" Ruby interrogated, angrily. Pearl stood defiantly.

"Yes," she stated, confident. "I did." Ruby walked up to her, staring at her with a boiling fury. "Is that really your biggest concern right now, Commander?" Pearl asked, motioning to the unconscious Peridot on Bismuth's shoulder. Ruby held her stare, but knew what she meant. She backed away a bit, pointing at Pearl menacingly, before walking towards the lighthouse. The last batch of humans had begun descending down the tunnel.

8

Peridot, after being tied to a metal chair for about six hours, finally awoke. Her head hurt, and her vision was a bit fuzzy, made worse by the cracks in her visor. In front of her was a rather large room, a cylindrical pillar in the center and windows surrounding the walls, displaying an evening sky. Thin, wispy clouds descended at an alarming rate, and some small dots of stars were able to shine through. They hadn't stopped rising, and Peridot had to leave before it fell. Her thoughts were broken by a hefty smack in the face. The room was dark, so her assailant remained difficult to view, but she could just barely make out a large, bulky figure to her left.

"Good to see you're finally awake," Bismuth said, soft yet intimidating.

"The blacksmith," Peridot said, exasperated. "No ragtag rebellion would be complete without one."

"This 'ragtag rebellion' is gonna show you Homeworld pricks what happens when you piss off the wrong crowd, scout."

"Such hostility," Peridot commented, chuckling. "All those years cooped up in the smelting rooms will do that, I suppose. You don't know how to treat others because you don't know any others. It's just so adorably pathetic."

"I'd say that makes me more dangerous. I dunno how to treat others, so I don't have any limits." Bismuth walked over to what Peridot assumed was a table in front of them. She heard small clinks and sliding noises, and instantly understood what was happening. Bismuth walked back over to her, her heavy footsteps reverberating on the glass of the windows and the bricks in the walls. "I've always had a special sorta hate for you Peridots. Always comin' in and flauntin' your fancy tech. Your prestige and nobility. I woulda done this even if the Commander didn't ask me to." Peridot's leg was lifted up, and a sharp pain soon coursed through it. She clenched her teeth and tensed up, but didn't make a noise. "Sorry if I'm a little sloppy. Usually, the humans use these things under lotsa light, but your little stunt has made that difficult." She could feel something of a blade slip in deeper, skating right on the edge of her limb enhancer. The pain increased the deeper the blade sunk in, until it reached its limit and began to move along the rim of her enhancer. Slowly. "Speakin' of, how exactly do we shut that thing off?" Peridot remained tense, unable to respond. Again, she was slapped in the face. "HOW DO WE SHUT IT OFF?!"

"Even if you did," Peridot said through gritted teeth, "you wouldn't survive the impact. Unless we make it into orbit." She grinned. "Keep cutting slowly and maybe we will." A quick slice that trailed up the back of her leg, and she cried out in surprise and pain. There was an overwhelming urge to poof herself, but she couldn't give them that opportunity. The blade returned to its original incision point, now cutting along in the opposite rotation.

"I could do this for days, you fuckin' vulture. I've got a lotta anger to unleash and you're the nearest target. Let's just call it bad history. But, as much as I hate it, I got orders to follow." It was this statement that puzzled Peridot just a bit. Through all the anguish, she was still able to think clearly enough to analyze the situation. This Bismuth clearly has a fiery, passionate hatred towards Peridots, but she must still follow orders even when there alone? There must be some sort of listening device...or perhaps someone else in the room. And something else in her statement... Peridot came to a sudden realization, smirking.

"4025. Gamma, Facet 12SRI," Peridot stated as though reading it. This made Bismuth pause. Peridot's smile grew wider. "Considering you're not the only one in here that's listening to me, I'd say I have something you might not want getting out. Not to them." More silence, until Bismuth suddenly stabbed her in the thigh, almost the entire scalpel being lodged in it. Peridot cried out in agony, before laughing maniacally. "Even the s-strongest have a weakness, you f-filthy lower crust!" Peridot was punched hard in the face, her visor shattering to its limit. She could no longer see through the spiderweb of cracks and cuts, and her head began to spin.

"TELL ME HOW TO SHUT IT OFF BEFORE I TEAR OFF YOUR FUCKIN' HEAD!" Bismuth shouted, squeezing Peridot's throat.

"You...can't...kill me," Peridot wheezed. "Not...until I...say...what you want." Bismuth gritted her teeth with rage, thinking back to all the times the Peridots came through their workplaces and spat on their work. Spat in her face. She loosened her grip, however, and Peridot continued to laugh. She wasn't worth it. Bismuth unrolled a strip of grey, shiny material the humans often use, and covered Peridot's mouth with it. Annoyed, Bismuth walked out of the room, heading down the stairs. Ruby and Pearl were huddled next to an old radio on the table, which was hooked up to a microphone up there.

"Not bad, Bismuth," Ruby stated, turning off the radio. "But she has a point, we have to admit. If we take any longer, this place'll be too far up for us to make it back down."

"I'm aware of that Commander," Bismuth replied bluntly.

"What was that she was referring to, also? The Gamma...Facet whatever?" Pearl asked. Bismuth merely looked at her with death in her eyes.

"Bad history," was the reply.

9

"Hey, Universe!" said a heckler in the audience, "why don'tcha play us a lullaby? Your music's so borin' I'm fallin' asleep over here!" Everyone else laughed, but Greg just stood there, staring at the faceless crowd. His guitar slid down from his hands, defeated. Two years, he thought, I've been at this for two fucking years, and still, I'm just playing at small-town bars and sidewalks. He chuckled. The sidewalks make me more money, anyways. He stood up, wanting to spout so many things back at that asshole, but knew it wouldn't change anything. He just walked off-stage, hearing the only applause he would get that night. It was June 7th, 2000 in Empire, USA, at about 10:15 pm. As Greg walked out the back of the bar, he saw a trash can beside it. It had flies swarming around it, and smelled of dried beer and vomit. He considered throwing his guitar in there with it, even raising it up to do so. But it would do no good. He gripped the neck of it tightly, tears in his eyes. Lowering it, he simply stormed over to his van, placing his guitar in the back. He dug through his pocket for the keys, walking back over to the driver's side door. He took a glance at the sky, seeing that it was a clear night. But he could only see a handful of stars in it. Just another thing that this city has taken from him. He found his keys, getting in and starting it. It was gonna be a long drive home.

After making it out of the main city, with blinding lights and bustling vehicles, it was miles upon miles of trees and foliage, reduced to nothing but blurry shadows along the road. He craved a smoke, but was trying to quit. With that little reminder, though, his hands began to itch and his mouth suddenly tasted terrible. From the quick peeks and peripheral looks, Greg could see that the sky was much clearer now, with only a few small clouds passing by. He was always astonished by the existence beyond their own. With the trillions of possible lives out there. With the millions of other individuals. And the few that were going through the same things he was. It was a comforting sensation, that. To think that he wasn't alone in this.

It took him a good hour and a half before he saw his street. As he pulled into the driveway, he noticed someone standing on his porch. It spooked him at first, but he knew that figure. His face went cold. He turned off the car, hopping out and walking around to this midnight visitor.

"Nice night, yeah?" Andy asked, blunt. Greg stood at the base of the porch, reluctantly meeting Andy's eye level. Andy looked more tired than usual. His face was looser and his arms seemed weaker. But his eyes? His eyes looked like a panther's as it gets ready to pounce.

"I'm doing the best I can, Andy," Greg excused, not wanting to look his cousin in the eyes.

"Oh, are ya?" Andy raised his voice. "Is the 'best you can' doin' jack shit for two years and ignorin' your family?! You didn't even write!"

"I was gonna get back to you once I ha--"

"No! No! I'm done with your excuses, Greg. See, this is what you do, you can't handle something that's so tremendous and challenging, and you try to make other people look like assholes when they call you out on it! You run from your problems because you can't just grow up and solve 'em yourself! You lived with your fuckin' mom until you were " There was a pause, and Andy's stare was broken. "It doesn't matter anyways." Greg was going to ask further, but didn't need to. Greg looked at the door, ashamed.

"How long ago?" he asked.

"A few days."

"Was it peaceful?" A pause.

"No." There was silence. And for a moment, Greg wondered if that's all that would be left. "I just wanted to tell you that, Mr. Universe." Andy rubbed his nose, sniffling, before leaving the porch and walking across the lawn to his parked car. "Goodbye, Greg. I hope I never see you again." The car door slammed, the engine sputtered to life, and then he drove off. And that was it. Greg stood at his door, frozen, before entering his house. His hands were shaky, and his throat was dry. He turned the lights on inside, seeing the walls lined with framed pictures of his family. His aunts and uncles. His cousins. His mom. But they weren't his family anymore, and that came like a stab to the chest. He clenched his fists, before walking to the bathroom and grabbing his toiletries. He grabbed a plastic bag from under the sink in the kitchen, tossing in some cans of food and cartons of milk. It would be a long drive. He left the house, walking over to his car. The seat was still warm. As he started it, he looked at his house again. Such nice, happy memories, have now been tainted with nothing but tragedy. Pain. Alienation. And it wasn't even his fault! Andy was clearly to blame! Greg thought things over. He was in the wrong here, wasn't he? What would I have done? He thought to himself. He sat there, pondering, but shook his head vigorously, as if literally shaking the thought from his head. He pulled the map out of the glovebox, looking it over. He flipped through a few things, before finally reaching what he was looking for: Delmarva. Far from any of his family. Far from any of this pain. A fresh start.

***********************************************************************************************

Greg's head was pounding and light, and he could hardly see. Granted, the sun seemed to be setting, so it would be tough to see. He could feel that he was lying down, and that there was something soft for his head and neck to rest on. He tried to open his eyes a bit more, finding it unusually difficult.

"Oh!" He heard someone speaking from beside him. "He's waking up." Their voice was there, but it sounded as though it were in a dream. Close to hear, but distant to process. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry. He coughed a few times, and the person next to him understood. "Can someone get him some water? How many bottles do we have left?" A pause.

"About fifteen," said a deeper voice from behind him. He could barely hear the exchange of a crinkly, plasticky material. He felt the rim of the bottle pressed up against his lips, even though his lips felt like paper. He opened his mouth slightly, surprised by the flow of water down his throat. He jolted at this, knocking a few drops down the wrong tube and causing him to cough. Connie stopped pouring, tapping his shoulder.

"Okay. Alright. Try to take it easy, big guy," she said. The group stood at the edge of a large crater, the soil still cold and damp, the place also littered with rocks and debris. They had been trying to find the best place to climb up, and what the best way would be for Greg. The beachside seemed to be the best option, though that would take some careful coordination and would be difficult with all the sand that's piled up over there. Greg was in no condition to walk or do much of anything. He needed rest, but seeing that gradually shrinking mass of land in the sky made everyone anxious. Greg usually knew what to say and what to do in times of crisis, but here he was. Concussed. And Connie felt as though she was the one to take charge, being his stepdaughter. "Okay. Listen up, everyone!" Everyone turned to look at her, stopping their conversations. Connie was taken aback for a moment, not used to being the center of attention and freezing up for a few moments. Sadie was the only one to look at her expectantly, and Lars obviously couldn't care less. "Greg cannot help us get out of here. Instead, we need to be the ones to help him. The beach is a good option because it's the most level, but there's also a lot of tricky and dangerous stuff over there. We're not gonna be climbing up the cliffside over where the subways are, because we can't be carrying Greg's body up there and he definitely can't do it himself. So, brainstorm. We've gotta do this sooner rather than later." There were a few nods in the crowd, but some just held their stares. Like lost, scared little animals. In fact, that's basically what they've been reduced to at this point. Their voices rose up once more, everyone trying to figure out a good solution. Connie sat beside her adoptive father, looking up at the darkening sky. Beach City was above the clouds, now. Even at such height, though, it managed to appear gargantuan. Like an asteroid coated in green, glowing sheets. The exit hole they had used hours ago was difficult to see; nothing more than a black dot amidst all that green.

"Not bad," said a tired voice next to her. She looked at him in surprise, derailing her train of thought. "For your first time."

"I shouldn't have had to in the first place, Greg," Connie replied. "What were you thinking just tumbling down that hill like that?"  
"Heat of the moment. That's my excuse. No other way out." There was a moment of silence between the two of them.

"Is that supposed to be one excuse? Because those aren't the same thing." Greg chuckled. Connie smirked a bit, too.

"How are they looking?" She looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Their faces. Their posture. What're they like?" She looked back at the crowd behind them, observing their demeanor. Some of them were clearly concerned, a few even to the point where they looked on the verge of tears, but others like Smiley, Kofi, and Ronaldo just seemed determined and concentrated. Sadie and Lars just kept talking, same as before. She relayed this information to him. Greg nodded slightly. "You said some of them looked like they were about to cry?" Greg asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, go talk to them. See what's wrong." Connie shook her head.

"I can't do that, Greg. I'm not cut out for it."

"Sure you are. You gave a speech, didn'tcha?"  
"I updated them on the situation and gave them an objective. That was not a speech."

"Connie," Greg opened one of his eyes, looking directly at her, while the other one remained in a painful squint. "You need to learn how to do this and get better at it. If something happens to me alo--"

"Don't." Connie looked at him sternly. "Don't do that." Greg blinked a few times, before settling back down. Connie hugged her knees as she sat, her back now to Greg.

"You know how much your life means to me, right?" Greg said after a few moments of wondering what to say. "If it's life or death between you or me, I won't let you die. I'd gladly be the one to do it." Connie's throat dried and choked, and her vision became blurry. She shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Get some rest." She stood up, walking away from him, and walking further away from everyone, closer to the center of the crater. Her arms were folded, and she stood there with her head hung. She could still remember how it happened. One minute, she was just watching some cartoons on television. Her mom was reading in the dining room, and her dad was coming home from work to have lunch.

March 30th, 2017. Delmarva, USA. 3:57 pm.

It was still the beginning of an episode when her TV glitched out and started showing static. Annoyed, Connie tried changing the channels to see what else was on. All of them remained static.

"Is that thing giving you grief again?" Priyanka asked from the dining room, taking off her reading glasses.

"Yeah," she replied, "all the channels are down." Priyanka got up and walked over to the television. She was wearing a beautiful white blouse and a golden necklace given to her as an anniversary gift, as well as dark jeans and blue socks.

"Must be the dish. When is your father going to get here?" Connie just shrugged. Her mother stood in the middle of the room, her arms folded, breathing deeply in frustration, before shrugging as well with a smirk. She walked back to the dining room, where her book was sitting with its pages splayed out on the table. It looked like a headless bird perpetually stuck in the sky. Priyanka bookmarked it and closed it, picking up her drinking glass and walking over to the couch next to Connie. "So, what's up, kid?" Connie smiled and shrugged again. "Yeah? Anything interesting happen at school?"

"I guess. I met a nice boy at school. His name's Jeff."

"Ooh! Nice how?"

"Well, he helped me pick up my books and complimented my hair. We sat and ate lunch together. He's pretty cool. Likes to draw."

"Hm. Do you like talking to him?" Connie looked at her mom, smiling but furrowing her brow.

"Why?" She asked, chuckling nervously.

"Well, it's always nice to have someone to talk to, right?" Priyanka smiled.

"I talk to people, mom! I have friends!"

"Like whom? Nobody's come over to our house since fourth grade!"

"Uh, let's see! There's Yancy, Stacy, Kaila, Tiffany, and even Jenny! And Jenny's like, a senior!"

"Wow. How much do you talk to them?" Connie blushed a bit and didn't say anything, before playfully punching her mom in the shoulder.

"Shut up!" The two of them shared a laugh.

"When I was in middle school, I only had two friends. Like, friends I actually spent time with. One of them turned out to be a jerk, by the time we got into high school, and the other got involved with the wrong crowd when I was a sophomore. I'm not saying that's how things will turn out, but just be careful who you pick and don't get too attached to them."

"I know." Two shadows traveled along the bottom of the door, before they joined together and stopped in the center. The sound of keys entering the lock was heard, and soon the door was opened to display Doug, wearing his signature jacket and a gun in his holster.

"Hello, family," he greeted from the doorway. The girls returned the greeting. He entered the house, sniffing the air a bit. "Weird," he said, "I don't smell any lunch."

"That's because lunch was two and a half hours ago," Priyanka stated. Doug paused, looking at them with a nervous smile.

"Right...sorry." Connie waved the subject off. Not a big deal. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out some lactose-free yogurt and some lunchmeat.

"Y'know, you should really start packing your own lunches, hon," Priyanka called from the couch. Doug was about to respond when the ground beneath them began to shake and the walls also vibrated.

"Tremor!" Doug stated, putting down his food and crawling underneath the dining table. Connie joined him frantically. Priyanka merely clung onto the couch. "Priyanka, try to get under something!"

"It's just a tremor, Doug," she brushed off. "Nothing's broken, it's just some shakes." The shaking ended a few moments later. Connie and her father emerged from beneath the table, analyzing things to ensure they weren't cracked. Everything seemed to be fine. An eerie silence floated in the air amidst the dust.

"Should we go outside?" Connie asked. "Maybe others weren't as lucky."

"I dunno about that. But, yeah, it's a nice day," Doug said, his arm on her shoulder. Connie walked to the door with her mom, while her father went into the kitchen to get his lunch. As she was about to open the door, a wave of force shot up from the ground with the strength of a cannon. Everything else happened so fast. Connie and Priyanka were knocked off balance, and they could hear cracking and banging as parts of their home began to break away. Part of the ceiling peeled off like an orange in the dining room, and Doug rushed out of it. A sinkhole opened up beside Priyanka, and she fell down into it, unable to control her balance. Connie, instinctively, tried to help her up, yet Doug pulled her away. Connie screamed as her mother was crushed by debris from the ceiling. She was frantically trying to crawl out, grabbing at an ever-growing pile of rubble around her, until she was buried beneath it. Doug had slammed the door open, rushing out while carrying Connie. Her eyes remained fixated on her mother's crude grave, hoping for some sign of movement or just a few of her fingers. Her mother wasn't one to give up so easily. Doug had to keep moving. People in their neighborhood crowded the streets, and he could see the other houses that had collapsed. Caved in, mainly. People scattered without aim, like rats or cockroaches. This panic was given new direction when an odd-sounding noise sounded from down the street behind them, accompanied by a brief, yellow flash. Dozens of people, including the Maheswarans, looked back in fear. There was something that, from a distance, could have been misconstrued as a bird. A vulture. It shot at the crowd with many, targeted beams of energy, and everyone screamed and ran for their lives in the opposite direction. Doug, for a few moments, suffered from such hysteria himself, before focusing and seeing an alleyway to their right. He ran over to it, hearing the crowd slowly quieted as the firing continued. He held Connie close to him as they sat down, hiding behind a dumpster. They heard the otherworldly hum of the hunter in the sky pass over them, and remained there for a few moments, not daring to make a sound. It was dusty back there, and they could see the sky change in color as they stayed there. The temperature rose around them, and the wind became much stronger. They sat there for about an hour, the only screams coming from the wind as it passed through the barren neighborhood. There were a few aftershocks that came through, but it seemed as though the worst was over.

Night fell, and the temperature dropped drastically. Doug had fallen asleep, and Connie's legs began to fall asleep. She was freezing, goosebumps covering her arms. She stood up for a moment, her good leg feeling weak. Doug slowly woke up, feeling the absence of her daughter's warmth as truly freezing. He, too, stood up, uncomfortable. Connie, despite difficulty seeing, walked over to the opening they came through. The sky had an eerie, teal glow to it, and the air smelled of fire and metal. Doug walked up next to her, holding her close. The first words she had heard in hours were spoken by her father.

"Are you cold?" She nodded, finding her throat too tight to speak. Doug removed his coat, draping it over her. It retained some of his residual heat, providing extra warmth for a few moments. She fit her arms into the sleeves, and felt a little extra weight in one of the pockets. She felt around inside of it, finding a hefty, black flashlight. She clicked it on, a cone of yellowed light pouring from the end. The circle at the end crawled along the ground and swept through the flakes of dust in the air. She could see streaks of ash covering the street, windswept and appearing as though it was frozen in a moment of movement and panic. It was, she thought. Connie shone it on herself, seeing that she was covered in dust and dirt.

"What now?" she asked, surprised to once again hear her own voice. Her father said nothing, merely shrugging. They walked out into the street, their feet becoming dirtied with what remained of their neighborhood. Of their neighbors. Connie looked at the rubble of their home, hoping to see her mother standing there in good condition or her footprints coming from there and leading to a safe place. It was just as they had left it. Trembling and stiff, Connie turned the flashlight off. Yet, she was surprised to still see a yellow circle of light on the ground. Her heart jolted, and her eyes widened. The light began to move towards her. She and her father ran in the opposite direction, but Connie's foot slipped on a pile of ash. Her father, thinking quickly, rushed over to her and picked her up, and she began to move again. Doug's foot was caught in the ring of light, and he froze in place, screaming in agony. Connie halted, looking at him. He gripped his leg with all his might, trying to move it out. He could see it crumbling away into small, grey flakes. He knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this. He looked back at Connie, who stood there in terror. He couldn't find the breath to speak, instead mouthing one word: 'Run.' The beam of light swiftly illuminated the rest of his body, and Connie watched in horror as her father was reduced to the same things that littered the streets. Nothing more than another pile of ash. Her heart felt as though it was being strangled, but she had to keep moving. Taking a quick glance into the sky and seeing a giant spot of absent stars, she yelped, and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction, trying to raise her legs up high as she ran. Not once did she think to look back. To see if it was following her. To see what was left of her family. And she never has.

Her father had always reminded her that he would gladly take her place in death. Not once did she ever think of those words. But, now, they were the only words she could think about.

"Hey, Connie!" Smiley shouted from behind her. She turned around quickly, as though his voice were a gunshot. "I think we figured somethin' out!" Connie stood there for a few moments, staring at them. Deciding whether or not she should even bother returning to the group. She looked at Greg; the only leader they had. She walked back over to the crowd, one of her crossed arms falling out from its embrace and hanging loosely as she walked over. "If we're able to make a hammock of some sort, we might be able to head over to the beach safely. Those orbs haven't done anything for hours, now, so I doubt they're a high risk."

"Where are we gonna get the fabric?" Connie asked.

"We have blankets."

"Why not just carry him by his limbs?

"It would be more painful for him," Kofi chimed in, "and much more difficult for us to carry him." Connie nodded. Smiley looked through one of the bags, picking out a red blanket that seemed to be fleece. He was handing it to Connie when Sadie shouted from the back of the crowd.

"Hey!" she barked, walking over to them. "No! Nuh-uh! That's my blanket."

"We gotta use something for the hammock, and this is the best we've got," Smiley said.

"Don't you have any other blankets in there?" Smiley looked through the bag. "Oh, great," Sadie mumbled, "he didn't even bother with the other ones." Smiley pulled out a gray, knitted blanket. "Sure. That one can work, right?" Smiley looked at Connie, who looked back at him in frustration. He shrugged and raised his eyebrows, essentially saying 'She has a point.' Connie rolled her eyes, trading the blankets. Sadie smiled, pleased with how this transpired, and walked back over to her goon. Connie placed the blanket on the ground next to Greg, and moved over, grabbing him by his feet to lift him up. Smiley hooked underneath his shoulders, looking at Connie worriedly.

"You sure you can lift him?" Connie looked back at him, insulted. Smiley nodded. "On three. One. Two. Three." Connie tried to spring up with her legs. It was difficult, but she managed. She and Smiley then carried him over a bit until he rested on the blanket, gently laying him down. Connie fell to the ground, sitting down and panting. Harder than she thought. Smiley cracked his knuckles, calling over Ronaldo and Kofi. "I'mma need you too to take the two corners here by his head. I'll take the end."

"I can handle it," Connie said.

"You're pantin' like a dog from carrying him about a foot. That beach is a good mile or so. We don't need to overwork ya," Smiley replied, smirking half out of amusement, and half out of admiration. Connie decided not to argue, nodding. She stood up after catching her breath, and the crowd moved around them, ready to head off. Smiley, Ronaldo, and Kofi lifted Greg up, signaling that it was time to move. They moved relatively quickly, walking fastly and bordering a jog towards the beach. Connie was careful to maneuver around the rocks, keeping her eyes to the ground. She looked at the sky again. Beach City was barely visible at this distance, blanketed instead by the clouds.

10

They had reached the point where the horizon curves, split between a hazy blue and a stark, spotted black. Had there been any humans left on the hunk of rock, they would have frozen to death, suffocated, or maybe even both. The Crystal Blades were hard at work trying to figure out how to work around this, looking at every angle they could. They can't kill the Peridot outright, and if they try to cut off her limbs, she'll most likely poof and not be of any use. They can't destroy the booster orbs, as they're tough to damage and they would only crash into the Earth and most likely shatter on impact. Not even Sapphire was of any help to them, being too emotionally distressed to focus on the futures. She sat underneath the stairs, lost in her own mind, while the other four stood in a circle near the center of the room, Amethyst standing away from the group just a bit.

"Then what else can we do?" Pearl asked. "The pilot won't talk and we're running out of time."

"What'd we do with her fingers?" Amethyst asked, at a volume as though she were talking to herself. Pearl was the only one to acknowledge her presence.

"Locked them up in the basement. They could be of use," Pearl replied.

"Hm. Or they could burn your hands off when you try to grab 'em," Ruby added. Amethyst dared not look at her commander, for fear of her eyes shooting holes through Amethyst's head. "But the Runt has a point. It might be our last shot, at the very least." Ruby turned to Bismuth, who had spaced out looking at the center of the floor. Ruby snapped her fingers, bringing Bismuth back to reality. She looked over at Ruby, who stared back expectantly. Bismuth raised her brow a bit.

"I think I've already done enough to that green menace. It's the Runt's turn," Bismuth replied. Amethyst tensed up, as she knew all eyes were now on her. Wordlessly, she hurriedly went downstairs, hiding her face and her shame. She practically ran down the stairs to the basement, finally alone. She halted for a moment, not really knowing why. She often finds herself doing things for no apparent reason, and hates herself for it. Every time. There was a latch on the floor of the bottom level, which was attached to a trapdoor. She opened it up, revealing the dark basement below. This was primarily for storing things that were originally in the lighthouse and dumping trash into it. It didn't do them much good, though. She could see a faint, yellow-green glow from the fingers in an old, dirtied jar. She hopped down into the basement, and saw that the jar was atop a stack of boxes much taller than she was. She used her shifting abilities and extended her legs, allowing her to better reach the jar. As soon as her palms made contact with the glass, a powerful jolt of stinging pain coursed through her arms. Surprised, she fell backward onto another pile of boxes. Typically, she would immediately get up and try again. Most anyone would. But she stayed there for a few moments, her mind polluted with self-doubt. With hatred and anger. Why should she get up? What good would that do her? She'd just get shocked again as soon as she grabbed the jar. She was too weak to handle this task. She wasn't any help. She was just dead weight. She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, but that would just make things worse. Then the commander would hear her and come down and scold her and hit her and punch her and yell at her. She clutched the side of her head, tugging at her hair with clenched fists and silently cried.

"Runt!" called the commander from upstairs. "What's taking so long?!" Amethyst squeezed her fists tighter. Her fears had come true.

"Th-The jar! It's...electrified. The fingers electrified the jar!" she replied, struggling through her tears. She could hear three sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. Ruby hopped down, shining light from her gem and seeing Amethyst trying to stop crying. Ruby rolled her eyes. She then saw the jar on top of the boxes, which remained beyond her reach.

"Bismuth," said Ruby. Bismuth needed no other words to know what Ruby wanted her to do, and quickly grabbed the jar off the top of the boxes. Her arm tensed up because of the constant flow of energy, but she held on to the jar.

"Runt's right. It's emittin' some weird little shock to keep us away from it," Bismuth said casually.

"I didn't think the Runt was lying. I just thought she might be capable of completing a task as simple and brainless as this," Ruby said, leaning in towards the distressed Amethyst. Amethyst peered at Ruby through her fingers. "So congratulations, Runt. You've actually proven me wrong for once." Ruby backed off and walked over to Bismuth under the trapdoor. Bismuth lifted her up and out of the basement with one hand, before climbing out of it herself and leaving Amethyst down there. Alone. With only her thoughts to accompany her.

Ruby, Bismuth, and Pearl all left the lighthouse and headed towards Peridot's ship, nested right in the center of the city. Frost had accumulated on the remaining windows in the buildings, and the temperature had dropped to freezing in a matter of minutes. They had to work fast. Pearl leaped up onto the wall of the building, using her momentum to run up it a bit and pull herself up and over the ledge. The ship was just as it had been left; sealed and lifeless. Pearl did the same thing she had done with the decoy and wedged it open with her spear. It was difficult, but proved effective just as before. She held up her hand and looked at Bismuth below, who tossed up the jar. Pearl caught it, surprised at the constant tingle of electricity, but carried on nonetheless. She sat in the cockpit, looking at all the little holes in the console and on the walls. Some combination of them must deactivate the orbs. If they can deactivate them, fall back down and then reactivate them to slow their descent, this should be able to work. It's our best shot, Pearl thought to herself. She opened the jar, picking one of the fingers up. Surprisingly, it didn't burn her or shock her. Perhaps it has no reason to while in the ship? She placed it into the console, picking each of them up and doing the same. Once she placed the tenth finger into the console, the ship lit up, displaying a holographic screen and different little messages in the Gem language. Things like diagnostics, conditions of the ship, and functions of it. However, it seems that some of this language had been changed over time. Pearl couldn't even read some of them. She began to sweat, nervous and unsure, but focused on the task at hand.

"Commander!" Pearl shouted.

"What?!" Ruby replied.

"This tech is new. I can't really figure my way around it. We might have to consult its pilot a bit." Ruby paused for a moment, looking at the ship from below in an expression of disbelief.

"Are you insane?! Bringing her out here will ruin the entire operation!"

"I never said we had to bring her out here. Do you still have that communicator on you?"

"Yes. Sapphire has the other end, I'm pretty sure." Ruby pulled out her communicator and activated it, holding it up to her mouth. "This is the commander. Does anyone copy? I need an immediate response."

***********************************************************************************************

Back at the lighthouse, the communicator went off on Ruby's desk, sending her message. Sapphire was the only one who heard it, with it bringing her back to reality. Sapphire got up, and rushed to the communicator, not wanting to be as useless as she thought she was.

"This is Sapphire," she responded, "what can I do to help?"

"We need more information out of the Peridot. Go upstairs. Quickly," Ruby ordered. Sapphire did as she was told, as she always does, and went upstairs to the top of the lighthouse as fast as she could. She projected light from her gem, reporting that she made it upstairs once she got there. She scanned around the room, seeing the tray of old surgical tools they had used for interrogation, and an empty chair where their prisoner had once sat. Sapphire's heart sank.

"She's gone," Sapphire said, her throat dry with fear.

"Gone?!" Ruby shouted over the communicator. "What do you mean 'gone?!'"

"The chair is empty. The tape was seemingly cut with a blade." Sapphire looked at a scalpel that lay on the floor beside the chair. There were also many shards of glass scattered in front of the chair. Sapphire heard a rather loud 'clang' from the other side of the room. She froze in fear and surprise.

"Stay put. I'm sending Bismuth up to deal with it," Ruby said. Sapphire nodded, even though she knew Ruby couldn't see it. She cautiously walked around to the other side of the light, afraid of what she might find. All of a sudden, the light was activated, blinding Sapphire. She could hear frantic footsteps coming up behind her. She instinctively turned around and tried to open her eyes, yet the light was too bright for her to see anything. She could briefly make out a tall silhouette and a small dot floating next to it, before a piercing jolt of pain struck her abdomen. She lurched over, clutching at it, and was swiftly kicked in the face, causing her to fall backward. She heard the footsteps again, only they were much slower and brief, stopping over by the stairs. She lay there in agony for a few more moments, feeling at the cause of her pain. It was a cold, hard, and smooth little object. A knife. She tried to think straight, but all that occupied her mind was panic, pain, and the urge to poof and regenerate. The commander would not be happy with that. After about a minute, she heard heavy footsteps ascending the stairs, before they were upon her. She could hear Bismuth give out a little gasp because of the light, before she made her way around the light to shut it off. She did so in a matter of seconds, the same clanging noise being made. The room was flooded once again in darkness, and Sapphire opened her eye, her vision flooded with the blue-green pools of over-exposure. She rubbed it, projecting light from her hand again to help Bismuth find her. Frantic footsteps were heard once more going down the stairs, and Sapphire's heart sank. She had failed.

"C'mon, princess. Get up. We ain't got much time," Bismuth said from beside her. Sapphire felt so shocked and stiff. She couldn't even move, it seemed.

It wasn't much longer after the light was deactivated that Ruby could see Bismuth running down the hill. Without Sapphire. And with no sign of the Peridot. Pearl peered out of the ship, sweat still trickling from her brow.

"What the hell is going on?!" Ruby shouted to Bismuth, who was fast approaching. Bismuth just raised her arms and shook her head in response. Pearl watched Bismuth anxiously, before feeling a heat radiating from the console. Confused, she looked at the fingers, seeing them begin to glow brighter and brighter. "Where is Sapphire? And the Peridot?" Ruby asked, her arms crossed. Bismuth slowed down before arriving in front of Ruby. And, without warning, Bismuth punched her hard in the face, knocking her to the ground. Pearl was about to jump out of the cockpit when the fingers in the console began to shoot out beams of green energy, keeping her inside. As though they were prison bars. Bismuth glowed with a light green hue, before her luminous silhouette morphed into that of Peridot, who turned to look at Pearl. A stew of powerful emotions boiled within Pearl at that moment. Some that she couldn't even describe, and all of them being embodied by a single tear that trailed down her face. Peridot's visor was completely gone, which gave her glare a much more raw sort of menace. Calmly, Peridot climbed up the building the ship was perched on, before staring at Pearl through her laser-formed cell.

"Pity," Peridot said, "that all of this was the best you had to offer against me. A punch in the face? An interrogation? And then trying to beg me to give up information that will compromise my mission? It's pathetic! And now you can feel the gravity of your stupidity. Now you're all going to die, and you're going to die knowing how you're all a bunch of useless clods." Pearl gritted her teeth, glaring at Peridot, before thinking over the situation.

"Compromise your mission?" Pearl said, before chuckling a bit, "if your mission was to eliminate the remaining humans as well as us rebels, then it's already been compromised." Peridot looked at her with slight confusion. "The only living things left on this floating hunk of rock are Gem life. The humans are back on the surface. Likely miles away by now." Peridot's confusion turned to anger. "Now, if we were to crash into the planet, it would kill all of us, yes?" Pearl smirked, while Peridot looked on in rage.

"Don't tell me what I already know!" Peridot stood there for a few moments, before deactivating the lasers, the fingers quickly gravitating to her. She was about to strike Pearl, yet Pearl kicked her to the side, knocking her slightly off balance. Pearl sat on the console, ready to pounce on Peridot. Peridot refocused, sending a few blasts at Pearl, who hopped away. Seizing the opportunity, Peridot quickly hopped in the pod, placing her fingers in the necessary spots and deactivating the orbs below. The rims of the green energy field dissipated, leaving only the Earth's horizon. Peridot looked at Pearl smugly. "Well, I suppose my mission is complete. And I must be off to Homewo--" Suddenly, Peridot was struck in the head with a lavender-colored ball. Dazed, Peridot looked around, yet Pearl pulled Peridot out of the ship, throwing her off of the roof of the building.

"Thank you, Peridot," Pearl said with a smile. Peridot hit the ground, grunting in confusion, and slowly getting up. Her mind recollected, as did her rage. She whipped around to face the building, beginning to leap for it but being caught in midair by a strong grip.

"Hiya, vulture," Bismuth said, slamming Peridot back into the ground. She lay there, then, limp and motionless, before slowly getting back up. She seemed weaker, yet still had a smug look on her face. The tube of her mask had detached, which she realized a few seconds after, frantically trying to plug it back in. Bismuth, rolling her eyes, rushed at her again, before being knocked to the side by a metal beam, which hung in the air afterward. Everyone except Peridot froze. The beam clattered to the ground, shaking it a bit. The sky froze for a few moments, and everything was still. Eerily so. Peridot gave up on the tube, detaching it entirely, it sloughing off of her back and unfurling on the ground. A lifeless, green snake that lay on the ground. Peridot looked menacingly at her opponents. Then everything felt different. Everything felt...lighter. And the wind increased. And the horizon began to ascend. Ruby finally got back up, seemingly dazed and off-balance. Bits of debris, near and far, levitated into the air. Pearl and Amethyst exchanged confused looks. But Sapphire understood. Her precognition showed her what was to happen, and she knew what the source was.

"Shield," Sapphire said, panicking, "quickly." Amethyst, being the designated shape-shifter, grabbed Ruby off of the ground and transformed into a hollow sphere around the other three. Peridot, amused, sent all the metal fragments shooting at her like a firing squad. It hurt, but Amethyst had become used to pain. Numbed, almost.

"Again," Ruby said, almost mumbling, "what the hell is going on...?"

"We're plummeting back down to Earth, Commander. And, if we don't start slowing our descent, we're going to explode on impact," Pearl replied.

"How do we even reactivate the blasted things?!" Ruby shouted, her composure coming back to her.

"I memorized the pattern used to deactivate them. Should be a simple fix."

"That won't work, Pearl," Sapphire added. "I have seen it. The deactivation pattern only wastes time. It needs to be mirrored to be reactivated."

"Are you sure?" Pearl asked, skeptical.

"In this situation, I have no reason to lie, nor is my sight hindered." One of the metal shards broke through the Amethyst barrier, narrowly missing Ruby's head. Ruby grimaced.

"I'll take care of that green menace. Sapphire, you and Amethy--"

"I'm sorry, who's giving orders, here?" Ruby asked rhetorically, glaring at Pearl. Pearl silenced herself, staring back. "Pearl and I will take care of the Peridot. Sapphire, Runt, you two stay up here." Ruby tapped the side of Amethyst's wall, as though she was in a separate room. "You especially need to protect the pod. Got it?" There were moments of silence.

"Got it..." Amethyst said, clearly strained.

"Alright. Let down the shield, Runt," Ruby commanded. Amethyst did so, and everyone within quickly responded to the barrage of metal shards from all sides. Pearl deployed her spear and began spinning it around like a propellor, deflecting the incoming shards. Ruby leaped off of the roof and fell down to the Peridot below. Ruby, remembering Peridot's ambush, punched her in the face in retaliation. Peridot, already weakened, fell like a tree. The metal stopped raining down on the roof, and Pearl also dropped down, ready to fight, yet Peridot lie there, still. Pearl placed her spear at her throat, taking precaution.

"Who's the clod now?" Pearl said. Ruby looked at her, confused and disappointed. Peridot just laughed. Pearl tensed up a bit, regretting her statement, but refocused instantaneously. Peridot, her laughter settling down, seemed to convulse a bit, and a strange breathing/pumping sound emanated from her mask. It almost sounded like a steam-powered piston. It was breathing. Peridot raised her hand, fingerless, and knocked off the mask. To their surprise, the mask did not cover part of her face. It was part of it. The place for her nose and mouth were instead filled with lights and circuitry, blinking and flickering.

"You've all been the clods from the first time you rebelled. For the past 496 years, you've been enraging the most powerful society in the galaxy. Perhaps the universe." A small, black screen displayed the waveform of her voice in glowing green. "When I go offline, they'll know that it was you. When my pods and orbs do not return, they'll know it was you. And they'll have confirmation that you're here. I was sent as a scout. An agent to see just where you all were. And to take you out if you were here. And you are. And now they know. Now she knows. And she's coming." Peridot leaned into Pearl's speartip, almost gleeful. Pearl merely looked on, fear creeping up her spine with every word the green pilot spoke. "Her army can destroy whole worlds. Whole civilizations. So," Peridot made a smiling sort of expression, "let's hope you'll keep yours." Digging the spear into her neck, Peridot's form finally broke, and she poofed out of existence. Her gemstone plummeted to the ground, bouncing off of Pearl's spear directly beneath it before rolling on the ground. Ruby, stone-faced and hesitant, stomped on the gemstone, shattering it with a loud noise. One that still shook her very core and chilled it to a frigid, mournful cold. Ruby and Pearl slowly exchanged glances. Pearl had no idea how to act. How to present herself. And for the first time ever, she had seen Ruby's true face as well. It was one whose face was blank and stern, yet whose eyes held the guilt-ridden souls of a thousand. Ruby blinked unusually hard, before walking past Pearl and climbing up onto the building. Pearl could only stand there, the wind rushing past her, and gravity falling upwards. A statue. A symbol. But of what? She looked at the ground, then to Peridot's shards. Shards that had become a dulled green. That had joined every other rock on this planet as nothing more than mineral. And, her surroundings filling her mind once again, Pearl followed Ruby up.

11

"Halfway there," Connie declared. "Let's take a break." Smiley, Kofi, and Ronaldo all relaxed, setting Greg down. Greg had seemingly fallen asleep or passed out along the way. Everyone sat down, their legs clearly getting tired. The carriers especially. They panted like dogs and full beads of sweat accumulated on their foreheads. She looked at all of them. People. Just normal, mortal people. Perhaps the only people left in Delmarva. Maybe even the country. Then her bones froze. Or the world... She closed her eyes for a few moments, not wanting to face the world. Not wanting to think about such a possibility. She just wished everything could be normal again. That there were still billions of people across the world willing to help others rebuild. But she had no way of knowing. Nobody did. When she opened her eyes again, she could've sworn the sky seemed different. Much less...green. She stood up, looking around. The invader's orbs along the shoreline began to plummet down towards the ground. They were under attack. "The orbs are falling!" Connie shouted. Immediately, everyone looked up and turned to them. Then the panic ensued. Some jolted up, breathing heavily before trying to hide. Others started running away. But most of them simply stood still and watched. Even Connie, while her mind was abuzz with fear and panic, had no intention of running. The first few orbs hit the ground, shattering into pieces, covered with a luminescent teal goo. Dozens of others soon followed. Everyone relaxed a bit. There was no attack. Not from the orbs, that is. But rather to the orbs. Connie turned back to see some of the people who ran running out of stamina. "False alarm!" Connie shouted. "The orbs are dying!" Smiley, Kofi, and Ronaldo picked Greg back up, slowly walking towards the shore. Everyone else followed suit. This was the first time they had seen the invaders be vulnerable in some way. To see their technology be destroyed. Connie said nothing, but she could tell that everyone else felt the same feeling rising within them. Joy. She felt it, too, causing her to smile ever so slightly. They all began to gain speed, wanting to see the destruction up-close. To truly revel in it. Eventually, they were all running towards it. Connie watched as the last orb fell, yet the sky caught her gaze for just a bit longer. Something else was amiss. She slowed. Those things that burrowed...they were orbs too. And if all the orbs were dying... She stood still, and quickly looked up at the sky. No longer was there a giant, green eye staring down upon them. There was now a gargantuan, shadowy blob in the sky. And it was growing. She began to panic once again, running towards the shore. She didn't want to alert people just yet. They were already running, anyways. Once they made it there (it took about five minutes), everyone collapsed on the ground, some even lying down in the goo. Like Barbarians bathing in their victims' blood. It was a deserved victory, but one that had to be cut short. "Everyone! We need to get to the beach as soon as possible! Like, now!" Connie shouted. A few people looked at her, but soon looked away, lost in the celebration. Ronaldo, however, saluted and tried pulling Greg's unconscious body up the hill, finding him to be just a bit too heavy. Connie filled with frustration. She tried again, now telling them that the hunk of land was falling back down. Again, they paid her no mind. Just a child, they thought. Just a child. She felt tempted to scream at the top of her lungs, but that would just solidify their expectations. She had to be in control here. But how? She looked up at the sky again, the dark circle growing every second. It wouldn't be long. She rushed over to Ronaldo, clearly the only person willing to follow orders. "Ronaldo, I need you to get the attention of the others immediately." Ronaldo looked at her, an idea quickly coming to him, before standing up straight (abruptly dropping Greg's head) and saluting.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ronaldo rushed over to his backpack on the ground, unzipping it and taking out a machine gun. Once he took it out, he walked over away from the group a bit, before aiming over in the distance and shooting. Connie quickly jogged over beside him, his fire ceasing once the group started paying attention. Ronaldo held his gun proudly, and Connie stood in front of him with authority.

"That big chunk of land in the sky is falling, and it's falling fast. I dunno if those...other people are gonna do anything about it, but we have to get as far away from here as we can and now." Everyone looked at Connie, before looking up at Beach City. Sure enough, it had drastically grown in size. People began to slowly panic. "It's an attack!" some said. "It was those others! From the lighthouse! They're working with the invaders!" Connie shouted to get their attention again. "Save the stories for later. Right now we just have to work with what we know: The city's falling. We're in the way. LET'S MOVE." Everyone hesitated, before frantically moving up the slope. Several people tried to help carry Greg, too. It was this detail that struck Connie the most. She had never seen such kindness and unity from these people. Not like this. She refocused, moving up with the rest of the group. It was only a few minutes before they made it to the beach. The sky had become dark and cold, not just because dusk had fallen, either. Every time Connie glanced up at the sky, her heart sank at the massive blotch of absent stars. The group moved quickly along the shore, trying to head north. Connie held a desperate hope that whoever was up on that city would figure out how to slow its descent. But it was the same hope one would have when hanging off of a cliff and pleading that the rocks don't break off. Just blind, savage hope.

12

Time was running thin. Pearl had memorized the deactivation pattern, yet her panic fogged up her memory. She knew she had to fill two of the holes on the left-hand wall, and three on the right, and then--or was it two on the right? What order did the five in the console go? In the center? Right? Left? Along the edges?? Her hands felt numb. Her breathing grew in rapidity to that of a steam engine. Sweat tickled her brow as the seconds passed. Sapphire, who had been waiting patiently beside the pod along with the others, could sense Pearl's apprehension.

"It's two on the right, three on the left, five on the console," she stated, attempting to remain calm. Pearl quickly did as was said, her hands shaking and making it difficult to fit some of the cylinders into the proper spots.

"And for the console?" Pearl asked, anxious.

"In the center." Pearl's shoulders felt lighter. Once she placed the last one in, relief washed over her. The green walls re-animated. And she could feel a slight shift in the wind.

"How far up are we?" Pearl asked. Bismuth tried to see the horizon, but could only see sky.

"I'll head up to the lighthouse real quick," she said. She hopped down from the roof, beginning to jog.

"Bismuth!" Ruby called. Bismuth turned around. Ruby held up her communicator. "Don't forget!" Bismuth nodded in response, continuing with her jog up the hill. Pearl removed the fingers in the walls for when they would need to be reapplied, leaving the ones in the console. She sat on the edge of the console, a bit relaxed. Just a few simple steps and this calamity would be over. Then she remembered Peridot's last words. And her look of joy. Her indifference to her demise. The duration of the attack. It was all over the course of slightly more than a day. She tensed up. Whatever was on its way next will most likely be far, far more disastrous by comparison. Pearl's thoughts were broken just then. Shattered by the sensation of touch. On her hand. Nothing too drastic, however. Just another hand resting on her own. She looked down at it, curious. Sapphire. Pearl turned to look at her, and she could tell that Sapphire was staring back. Not in affection, nor in annoyance, nor even in mere observation. She wasn't staring at Pearl. She was staring at someone familiar to her. Someone she knew all too well. As Pearl stared, she expected this moment to be...something. She expected herself to snatch her hand away and to meltdown even further. Or to grab Sapphire's hand tightly and feel a warm, safe feeling. But none of that happened. Nothing happened. The air was cold and silent; dead, and she only felt what was there: Sapphire's hand on her own. It was a sinking feeling, this realization. Yet Pearl simply zoned out at the horizon in front of her, her hand remaining stationary. And Sapphire did the same.

After a few minutes, Bismuth finally reported in, saying that they were likely only a few hundred miles up from the surface, and that they should wait until they halt in the air to deactivate the thrusters. Pearl promptly sat down in the pod, waiting for the right moment and fidgeting with the stray fingers in her hands. Sapphire stood, frozen with her head tilted downwards and her hands clasped together, hanging in front of her torso. Amethyst sat beside her, hugging her legs to her body and her head resting on them. And Ruby. Ruby stood like a monument in front of the pod. Her arms crossed, her face stone, and her gaze distant yet focused. What more could they do but wait? And the moment came sooner than they thought. Like a car slowly breaking at an intersection, they could feel their weight and force push up on them. Pearl assumed it best to act quickly, and so she did. Placing the remaining fingers in their correct sequence, it wasn't long before the force field once again dropped and they began slowly drifting downwards. The city shook with great force beneath their feet, causing some decrepit buildings to crumble further. But then everything was still. And silent. Despite their victory, the four Gems on the roof could sense a tension. They knew this wasn't over. Ruby turned to look at Pearl and Sapphire (even glancing at Amethyst for a moment). Her mouth twitched just a bit at the ends, providing a quick flash of a faint smirk. And her eyes gave it context. In the darkness of night, her eyes were matte and dead. No soul within them. No longer any sadness or remorse. All that was left was determination. Thirst. She hopped down from the roof, walking towards the lighthouse. The remaining three were unsure of what to do, but ended up following Ruby. She was the only guidance they had at this moment. The only torch in the darkness to follow. Even if that torch led them to certain doom.

***********************************************************************************************

The people on the surface had made it up to a treeline, a ways away from the city, and halted when Connie saw what was happening. While her mind had been primarily occupied with her group and simply moving forward, she had caught a glimpse of the force fields being reactivated. And so she watched from a safe vantage point as her home returned to its rightful place, spectating along with the rest of the group. As Beach City fit back into the crater, a large tremor shot out from it, and plumes of dirt and dust coughed up out of the seams, dissipating in the air. Everyone sat down, watching things unfold. Some quickly lied down and fell asleep in the grass. Others began to follow, dropping like flies into a well-deserved slumber. After the dust had settled on the city, Connie found herself tired as well. Exhausted, even. But something felt off. She clutched the sides of her dad's jacket, tightening it around herself and burying her face in it. She remembered her dad, her eyes looking down at the ground. And then she turned to look at Greg. He lied on the edge of the group, unconscious on his side. Their fearless leader. Connie smirked at the thought, before looking at the ground again; contemplating. She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply, before getting up and walking over to him. Crickets chirped and a few fireflies glittered in the air around them. For the first time in years, Connie saw a living world on this planet. It's enough to bring people to tears. Connie took it all in for a few moments, before refocusing on Greg. She sat down beside him, looking at him. A peaceful man. A confident leader. She smiled, tears in her eyes. A good dad. She lay down next to him, curling up in his warmth. Content. And the crickets sang her lullabies, until she gently drifted off. And at that moment--just for a moment--there was nothing but peace in the world.

Epilogue

"My Diamond," the Loud Pearl began, "Pilot F-2F5L C-5XG has gone offline."

"Old satellites around the planet she was sent to seemed to suggest her operations were a failure," the Efficient Pearl added.

"Likely thwarted by the Crystal Blades," said the Quiet Pearl. There was a pause, and the other two looked at her.

"Crystal Blades?" they asked in unison.

"It is the name of the rebel group on Earth." Again, silence. The Quiet Pearl rolled her eyes, though this was hidden by her hair. "The Ruby announced their name before they left for Earth a few centuries ago."

"I knew that," the Efficient Pearl added.

"I knew it first," the Loud Pearl contested.

"At any rate," the Quiet Pearl began, "data readings and surveillance from the pilot have been recovered successfully. It appears that not only are they in a small civilization on the coast, but that there is still...life." Silence. "Earth life. Sentient life." A holographic screen popped up in front of their Diamond's face, giving them just a small glimpse of her features. A mask. Some scars. Nothing more. On the screen displayed a map, with a small dot not far off the coast of the city. The Pearls, frantic to serve their Diamond, quickly explained.

"O-Oh! That? That was just some seismic activity. Probably from the planet deteriorating," the Loud Pearl explained. While the Loud Pearl's eyes remained glued to the floor, she could feel Yellow's eyes burning into her skull. Her body was frozen and shaking. And then, something peculiar happened. Something terrifying. She spoke.

"Show me."

The Pearls shot up like hairs on an arm, stiffening. Their eyes were wide. Their faces felt numb. But they did not want to disappoint. So, bringing up their own holographic screens, they displayed the pattern of the seismic waves. Waves that did not ripple outwards from their origin. They were tendrils. Tentacles shooting out in different directions. And they were moving. Yellow Diamond's eyes narrowed, and she smiled slightly. "By The Light itself," she said, leaning forward, "it's her."

End of Part 1


End file.
